


Dancing Into Her Heart

by RogueTiger



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dancer!Haught, F/F, Light Angst, Modern AU, no powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-06-10 08:56:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 83,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15288054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueTiger/pseuds/RogueTiger
Summary: Waverly Earp has spent her life in the quiet town of Purgatory. Settled into working at Shorty's; tending bar and helping Shorty fulfil and expand his passion for homebrewing that helped the bar to flourish. When it comes to relationships Waverly learned growing up that people leave and she fears rejection. Fears giving her heart to another only to have it trampled. But when popstar Shae Pressman's world tour makes a stop at the Big City Arena for a week of performances, Waverly travels with Shorty to make a delivery. Making use of her backstage pass, Waverly watches the dancers going through routines on stage and finds her eyes and heart drawn to one of them.Nicole Haught's one passion since she was a child had been dancing. With the help and encouragement of her gran and BF Shae, she has followed her dreams and protected her heart from people that just want to use her. Even though it is what she wants, Nicole had never thought it was possible to find love or a lasting connection on tour, until she meets Waverly Earp.Misunderstandings come between them about what, and who, they truly want, but as Shae's tour pulls them apart, both know in their hearts that they want more than just a friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, back quicker than I thought as this popped into my head yesterday and wouldn't get out.  
> And I swear to god this is going to be a short story!!!!
> 
> A quick note in case anyone is wondering/worrying... no, neither Rosita nor Shae will come between Wayhaught.

Excitement flowed through Waverly’s body as she looked up at the façade of the Big City Arena. More specifically it was the glowing advertising billboard all lit up with the name and a giant close up of one of the most influential and beautiful pop stars around, Shae Pressmen, that had her almost vibrating off the floor.

“Waverly, are you coming or not, girl?!”

Waverly’s whole body jumped as Shorty’s bellow jolted her out of her reverie caused by gazing into the almost mesmerising chocolate brown of Shae’s eyes looking out from the billboard. Shorty’s far too knowing chuckle as she climbed back into the cab of the truck had Waverly ducking her head in embarrassment.

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here, Shorty?” Waverly mumbled under her breath as a grim-faced security guard all decked out in black waved them forward into the underground parking to make their delivery.

“Girl! You do work for me… right?”

“Yeah?”

“Well then, relax. ‘Cause I am sure as hell not going to set this up on my own. The other option was Wynonna and if she had come along your sister would have already tried to drink her way through half the booze before we got here.”

“Only half?”

Despite Shorty’s assurance, Waverly held her breath until yet another guard checked them off on the third list since they had arrived at the arena and handed them lanyards with laminated security passes hanging off them.

“Okay, if you unload and get everything up to the hospitality area.” Pausing he looked at the middle-aged man and slip of a girl up and down. “Goods lifts are marked and there’s help available if you need it.”

With the security guard out of the way, Shorty parked the truck up. A whistle hissed out from between his teeth as he looked at all the other trucks. There were some big names there. All of them eager to showcase their locally produced goods.

“I almost feel like someone is going to pop out and tell us we were punked or that it was all a mistake.”

“Hey,” reaching out, Waverly gave his wrist a squeeze of encouragement. “You deserve this, Shorty! More so that any of those big fancy companies. They might have all the fancy equipment but you care about everything you make and it shows. You deserve this and more, everyone knows that.”

With Shorty buoyed by her words, they set about unloading and setting up where they were shown. Making sure that all the bottles, kegs and advertising was clean and straight to tempt them in and showcase Shorty’s brewing talent to its fullest.

Stepping back, Waverly gave it one last look over and gave Shorty a huge smile and a double thumbs up.

The deep bass of music thudding through her body drew Waverly’s attention to the glass she was leaning against and the view of the arena below. It was like gazing into a whole different world, one filled with magic as the coloured spotlights danced under the control of some unseen hand… or more likely a computer… but it was still magical to watch as they lit up different parts of the stage and all the instruments set up upon it.

“Hey, Shorty… do you think this pass would let me get a little closer to all that?”

Waverly turned and let out a startled cry as she found herself almost nose to nose with a young woman instead of the man she considered family.

“Shit! Sorry! Didn’t mean to make you jump.”

With a hand over her heart, Waverly willed her heart to find its usual rhythm as she mumbled out an “S’okay,” and studied the other woman who was smiling at her in a friendly if impish way. Her high ponytail bobbed and swayed as she danced back a couple of steps and held out a hand.

“I’m Rosita.”

“Waverly.”

“Well, Waverly,” reaching out, Rosita snagged the edge of Waverly’s security pass where it swayed below her breasts and held it up, dangling off the end of her finger. “This right here says that you can go on down for a closer look if you want. Not much going on right now though… Just the dancers going through so last minute run-throughs on some of the routines to check the size of the stage out.

“How do you know--?”

“I’m one of Shae’s personal assistants.” Rosita chuckled at the star-struck expression on Waverly’s face. “It sounds more glamorous than it is,” she assured her with a smile.

“I find that hard to believe,” Waverly answered back with a smile of her own.

“Not gonna lie, it does have its perks,” one of them being meeting beautiful young women like Waverly and getting to grant them a moment of joy in something that had become almost mundane to her.

“You’re sure it’s okay to go down?”

“Positive. Just keep your badge in sight at all times and don’t wander into the dressing rooms… the dancers don’t Have any shame when they’re changing costumes they don’t have the time for shame. Let’s just say they one look would scar you for life,” she gave a conspirative wink.

“Oh, I won’t! No peeking,” Waverly tried not to blush at the thought of all the fit dancers in various states of undress running around backstage. To them, it was probably just part of the job when it came to all the fast costume changes that went on during a show. “I just want to get a better look at the stage,” she finished hastily, fearing that her thoughts might have become writ upon her face.

“There’s an elevator back there that will save you having to go the long way around. Have fun, Waverly.”

Waverly watched as Rosita walked away and quickly went in search of Shorty to check that it would be okay to abandon him. With his soft smile following her, she made her way to the elevator that Rosita had pointed out. Even with Rosita’s go ahead, she was half convinced that she was going to be stopped and thrown out of the arena at any second but as she walked towards the massive stage she soon realised that everyone was far too busy putting together the finishing touches for the show later that night to worry about her.

She slowed as she got closer, looking for the most unobtrusive place to just stand and admire the sheer scale of the stage without getting trampled. Leaning against the rail she tried to imagine what it would be like for those that made it through the stampede that was sure to ensue and make it right to the front. The thought of being crushed against it didn’t sound like fun but she imagined being that close would make up for and cracked ribs.

“Do you need a hand?”

Waverly felt sure that the gruff voice meant that her time was up but the offer from the man, who had the most amazing, twinkling blue eyes and bushiest moustache she had ever seen, was for a lift over the crowd barricade and not for a frog-march to the exit.

“I probably shouldn’t.” Waverly gazed hesitantly at the rock-steady hand he held out in invitation.

“It is perfectly okay. Hop right on over so you can get a better look if that is what you would like.”

Everyone seemed determined to get her closer to the stage and well, who was Waverly to argue with fate? Especially as the dancers were making their way out. Nodding her acceptance, Waverly took his offered hand and slid over the top of the barricade to stand at his side.

“Ahh, looks like you got here just in time. My name is John Henry, by the way. Though everyone just calls me, Doc.”

“Waverly.” There was just something so formal about the man, something old-fashioned, in a slightly roguish way, that had her offering her hand even though he had only just released it after helping her over the barricade.

And, every bit the roguish gentleman, he enveloped her hand in his and raised it to press a kiss to the back of it, tickling her skin with his moustache before releasing it.

Looking at the lanyard around the man’s neck as he raised his hand and tipped an imaginary hat, Waverly saw that it was similar to Rosita’s meaning that he probably travelled around with the tour and wasn’t hired just for the venue. He certainly didn’t look like any kind of Doctor she’d ever seen before.

“Why do they need to check the stage?” she queried with a whisper that she wasn’t even sure he heard over the noise surrounding them.

“They sometimes have to change the size of the stage to fit the size and layout of different arenas. They usually do a run through of any numbers that it could affect the choreography the most to see if they need to alter the routines or change the number of dancers on stage. The head choreographer, Dolls, that’s him over there.” Doc gestured to the man in question as he walked out onto the stage like he was on some kind of military parade, “Fine man. But he kind of acts like a dick if they fail to get the chance to check it all out beforehand and they end up running out of space and looking stupid.”

“I can kind of see how that would be annoying.”

Waverly bit her lip as the choreographer seemed to sense that he was being talked about and his closely buzzed head swung in their direction to reveal his dark, handsome features. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Doc’s smirk and ‘hat tip’ in Dolls’ direction but there was no acknowledgement, friendly or otherwise in return.

Muscles bulged as he turned his attention back on the waiting dancers and linked his hands behind his back, pulling his body taught as he barked out an order for them to settle down at such an impressive volume that Waverly saw people standing further back than herself jump to attention along with his dancers.

And it was an actual attention that they sprang too with one man daring to throw him a salute that had several of the dancers struggling to hold in laughs that Dolls quickly quelled with the kind of glower that Waverly didn’t want to find herself on the receiving end of.

“You know the drill, boys and girls! We are here to work! To make sure you don’t end up looking like asses again!”

“Dolls, that was one time, five years ago,” a voice from somewhere along the line protested weakly.

“That was one time too many, Charlie! Now… anything else to add or do you need to do a lap of the arena so you can do some thinking?”

“Nope, nothing else to add, boss.”

“I didn’t think so!” Dolls clapped his hands together sharply. “Places!”

Waverly could only assume that they had already been told what they were going to be running through before they had hit the stage as they scattered and moved into position across the stage, finding their marks like it had been drilled into them a thousand times… and, going by Dolls’ intensity, it probably had.

The crackle of static from a radio in Doc’s hand had Waverly’s body jerk reflexively.

“If you would be so kind as to cue up the music and lighting Dolls’ requested,” he ordered quietly. “A fine man but absolutely shit at remembering to carry his radio with him,” Doc explained as he saw the question in the young lady’s hazel eyes. “And please, while I am more than happy to have your company… do not feel that you need to stick at my side if you so desire to look around.”

“Well, if you don’t mind the company… and questions… I think I would prefer to stay with you… if you really don’t mind! I know you must be busy!” Her almost frantic word vomit faded to a whisper and a furious tide of heat stealing across her cheeks under the weight of Doc’s soft smile that told her that everything was okay, that she could relax.

So Waverly did just that. Or tried to. Leaning back against the barrier she turned her attention back to the stage and the dancers waiting for their cue only for her gaze to lock upon one right opposite her.

She was crouched down in what looked like a typical superhero pose with one fist planted against the stage, the muscles in her arm and shoulder exposed by the blue, sinfully short and tight crop top she was wearing bulged with definition that strained against their pale covering of what she was betting was silky soft skin as the stage lights caught and played over her.

With her head bent, Waverly couldn’t see what she looked like other than to know that she had long, shoulder-length red hair as it hung down around her head and shrouded her face to billow in the draft created by the huge fans set up to give them some relief against the heat of the lights and exertion of dancing for hours.

The music started, the dancers snapping into their performance like well-oiled machines.

Waverly could feel the beat and pulse of the music pushing against her body but her first real look at the redhead had her utterly focused and enraptured.

She was… Gorgeous didn’t begin to do her justice as she moved to the beat of the music with the kind of grace and beauty that had Waverly envious and made her clench her hands to still the urge to reach out and trace the taut lines of her lithe body as she stretched and posed… especially when the end beat of the song had her closer to the edge of the stage, on her knees but with her body arched back, her head and shoulders resting on the floor.

She was so close that Waverly could see the beat of her pulse in the slender, strained arch of her throat and the dip at the base of her throat that now glistening with the first hints of perspiration from the high energy number.

“Wow.” Waverly had thought her murmur of appreciation had been just that, a murmur, but honey brown eyes flecked with hints of green and gold snapped to her as the woman climbed to her feet with ridiculous ease and Waverly’s world tilted even further on its axis as the redhead gave her a smile that revealed a dangerous level of dimples.

Waverly had no time to recover from the dual blow to her heart and somewhere a hell of a lot lower from that before she was left breathless time and again as the music started up again and the dancers were once again in motion.

They were all amazing, Waverly was sure of that, but it was the redhead that held her gaze, rendering the rest of them blurs that moved on the edge of her vision and occasionally passed between her and the redhead.

She should look away, Waverly knew she should, but as much as she looked… so did the beautiful dancer until Waverly felt like she was performing for her alone in a seductive courtship that had her clenching her thighs together and struggling to contain her moans more often than was seemly.

“No! No! No! Haught! You’re out of position again!”

The furious bellow from Dolls had Waverly and the woman gazing intently into her eyes jumping guiltily. More than that it had a grimace twisting the redhead’s lips as she climbed to her feet to face the choreographer.

“No, I’m not!” Nicole planted her hands on her hips and widened her stance a little. Not that she thought that he would hit her. Dolls was gruff, annoyingly so sometimes, but she knew him well and sometimes he needed a more forceful approach than many of them were willing to take to make him listen.

“Haught?” Waverly ducked her head slightly at Doc’s soft chuckle from her side. For a name, for _her_ name, it was ridiculously apt. that woman was the definition of ‘hot’.

“Yes, you are! If you end there,” he jabbed a finger at where she had been standing. “Then you’re going to be out of position for Shae’s mark!”

Shaking her head, she pointed to the ‘X’ mark in blue tape on the stage. “The only damn thing out of position is that,” she stated firmly. “Back me up here, Charlie!”

“She’s right, boss. The only time we come close to fluffing anything is when we follow that and not the dance.”

Eying them up until at least Charlie backed down, Dolls folded his arms across his chest as Haught just lifted her chin in challenged. “Fine! Get Shae’s stand-in!”

“That won’t work,” she gritted out, shaking her head. “The cutout you keep bringing out to prove a point stands where you put it, Shae doesn’t. Doc! Dude, is Shae here yet?”

“I am afraid to say, Ms Haught that she is not,” he drawled, amusement making his moustache quiver as he looked at Dolls and knew, just _knew_ that the dancer had his number just by how determined she was being. He also knew that she would find a way to prove it.

“She’s got interviews today that will keep her busy for several more hours yet. And whatever you have planned,” he pointed a warning finger at them all knowing better than to get roped into their mad schemes. “Keep me out of it.” Especially as their mad schemes usually ended in him up on the stage feeling utterly ridiculous.

The last time he had fallen for it, he had found himself draped in angel wings so they could best work out how to dance around it. Now, the angel wings had been one thing but he still failed to see why he’d had to put on a wig and hold a skirt in place too. That had just been taking liberties.

Waverly stood there quietly as Dolls looked around, a heavy frown making his handsome face look simply intimidating as he searched for something, his dark eyes raking over one person and then another in turn.

“You!”

“Me?” Waverly squeaked out in alarm as his dark eyes landed on her and stayed right there. Risking a desperate glance over her shoulder she saw that there was, unfortunately, no one behind her that he could have been talking to.

“Yes, you. You’re not doing anything! Come up on stage and help!”

“Now, Dolls. The lady is a guest, not someone for you to push around!”

Waverly’s smile of gratitude for Doc’s timely assist turned into a meep as there was a blur of movement from the stage and she suddenly found herself staring at the beads of sweat glistening on the collarbone of the woman that tormented her senses as she jumped down from the stage to stand right before her in all her glory.

And… oh, my god! She was tall!

Even with the heels, Waverly was wearing, she towered above her. Without the heels, Waverly was sure she would have to do some climbing to get to her very kissable looking, plump lips.

Lips that Waverly realised belatedly were moving!

“Huh?” she blinked, trying to clear her mind enough to pay attention. “I’m sorry, could you say that again? I think my ears were popped from the music.”

“The music, huh?”

Waverly blushed at the knowing smirk that was at least fifty times sexier than it had the right to be.

“Well, there’s no pressure if you don’t want to but I was wondering if you would be okay with just helping us out?”

Waverly found herself nodding furiously without even knowing what she was letting herself in for. “Erm, I mean, it depends on what you need me for?” The rest of her life would be a good start but she would settle for being allowed to gaze at the redheaded goddess for a moment longer.

“If you could be Shae’s stand-in for the routine? You don’t have to dance, just let me guide you to each position so we can show our boss we know what we’re doing before he has us over practising it and ends up messing our timing.”

The conspirative, dimpled smile that came her way as Haught glanced over her shoulder back up at the stage to make sure Dolls wasn’t close enough to hear, melted Waverly’s heart and turned her resolve into mush.

Mostly.

“I would love to… Like- like to… Yeah! But I don’t think I would be much use.”

“Would it be okay if I try something?”

“Anything,” she breathed. “I mean, yes?” Waverly stammered at Haught’s confident smirk.

“Maybe later,” she winked.

Oh. My, God. She was flirting!? Was she flirting?! Waverly was confused. She’s always liked woman but what Haught made her feel went a million miles beyond just appreciating the way they looked, sounded and smelled. A million miles beyond the urge to throw herself at her was the idea of flirting.

Her experiences lay only with the boy-men she had dated in high school and if that had been Champ she would have been in no doubt that it was his rough idea of flirting as his hands would have been trying to get under her clothes. With Haught, she was floundering in open seas with nothing to guide her.

Was she flirting or just being friendly.

And… oh god, she had missed the woman saying something again!

“Is that okay?”

“Sorry… ears,” she blushed anew at the quirk of lips as the woman leaned closer, enveloping her with the hot scent of her body, still clean and smelling faintly of vanilla, as she put her mouth close enough to her ear that Waverly could feel the heat of her breath stirring across her flesh.

“Is it okay if I have consent to touch you?”

Oh, fudge but that was sexy!

“Mmmhmm.” It came out more strangled and needy than Waverly would have liked but then hands, warm and strong splayed across the flesh revealed by the crop top she was wearing and settled there low, fingers fluttering and pressing as they brushed the tops of her hips.

“Okay, right then,” Nicole swallowed nervously as hazel eyes lifted to look at her. “Just- yeah. You have permission to touch me.” She swallowed again as her hands came up and mirrored her touch against her hips. “And just keep looking at me. Just let yourself go. Feel. Don’t think.”

“Not a problem,” Waverly mumbled. The ability to think was damn near impossible around the other woman even when they weren’t touching.

Waverly soon found that there were more torturous delights awaiting her as she felt Haught start to move. It was subtle, a soft sway of that perfectly muscled body that had the flare of her hips moving beneath her hands in a way that translated down to the hands at her own waist and guided her own movements.

“Look at me… That’s it.” Smiling softly, Nicole slowly increased the pace of her movements as it became clear that the girl was following her willingly and easily.

Everything faded away, the stage, the workers and dancers, even Doc who was standing closer than the others. It all drifted away until there was just the two of them. Bodies swaying. Eyes locked until all she could see were the hazel of her eyes and her beautiful face. Her eyes fluttered, dropping down to her lips and Nicole felt her self-control unravelling at the heat in her eyes.

Waverly almost whimpered at the sensation of her warm hands gliding over her flesh, one hand coming up to cup the back of her neck and head whilst the other settled more securely on her spine. Her world tilted, gently, easily, sensually, as Haught dipped her.

She didn’t want to compare any part of the woman to Champ but… well, the last time he had done something like that, Waverly had nearly thrown her back out with how sudden and jarring he had been and how unsafe she had felt even though he had muscles to spare.

More than he had brain cells according to her big sister, Wynonna.

With Haught, a woman that she knew nothing of apart from how gorgeous she was and the fact that she honest to god wanted to climb her… Waverly felt nothing but safe and cared for as she was held there in a dip that seemed to stretch away into forever but was, unfortunately, probably only seconds long before she felt the bunched muscles underneath her hands glide as she was eased back up.

The brown eyes still locked upon her own were dark and hungry, blown almost wide from more than just the dim lighting. Her tongue darted out, pink and delicate, sliding sensually to wet her lips in a way that had Waverly hungry to follow the motion with her own to explore the depths of Haught’s mouth.

God! She didn’t even know the woman’s first name and Waverly knew if she asked she would follow her anywhere if it meant that she could just get a kiss off her.

“Perfect.” With a blush staining her cheeks, Nicole cleared her throat and fought for control. “Do you want to—?”

“Yes! God, yes!”

“Are you doing this or not?!”

Waverly blinked, ducking her head as she realised belatedly that they were being watched. She wanted to run and hide… or just sink into the ground at her feet. Anything rather than see what they thought of her. But then a hand touched hers, elegant fingers giving a gentle reassuring squeeze.

“Hey. You did great,” Nicole smiled. “I know you can handle it up there but… there’s no pressure to do anything you don’t want to no matter how much Dolls barks.” Nicole really hoped that she agreed though and simply for the fact that it would mean she could get to be close to her a moment longer.

She was beautiful… stunning even. A blind man could have seen that and even with the show lights shining upon her, Nicole had been struck by her beauty from the moment her eyes had landed upon her. With her soft brunette, hair for days, hazel eyes that crinkled into the most adorable way when she smiled. And, god, that jawline! You could cut diamonds with a jaw like that! And then there was her body… Nicole knew people that would weep and would kill just for a glimpse of her and she had had the pleasure of feeling her soft skin against her hands.

Nicole could tell there was so much more going on with her though and she just wanted to get to know her… wished she had the time to explore all the facets of her and the contradictions she saw in her gaze that were one moment so intense that Nicole felt like she was going to go up in flames, and the next so shy and unsure of herself.

That shyness was there right then in a hesitant look cast from under soft lashes and in the way she drew her lip between her teeth and worried at it.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” Nicole couldn’t restrain her smile and pleased laugh and she was glad when a smile graced her lips.

Waverly followed the gentle tug of Haught’s hand that led her to the edge of the stage. A softly whispered ‘ready?’ breathed across her ear in a caress that had a shiver racing down her spine to pool as heat at the base.

Waverly found herself nodding without even knowing what she was agreeing to until she felt hands around her waist lifting her with ease and saw Dolls and Charlie reaching down off the edge of the stage to take her hands.

Their strong grips lifted her, a hand going under each armpit to support her as they bore her aloft before letting her feet alight upon the stage on another mark laid out in tape near where Haught’s position had been at the start of the last routine.

Yes, she had been paying that much attention.

It was fun and exhilarating but Waverly missed Haught the moment her steadying hands left her body, their last touch a glide of fingers that had brushed across her calves until she was back at her side thanks to a timely boost back up from Doc.

“Okay,” Nicole gently brushed her fingers reassuringly with her own. “You’ll do great. Just keep your eyes on me and let me guide you.”

Waverly nodded to let her know that she understood and was ready. Even so, her body jumped a little as the music started up but that was because she was paying more attention to her and had missed Dolls’ cue.

The song was one of Shae’s new ones. All sensual, pounding beat to match the sultry lyrics that wove through the music. Most of the dancers paired off across the stage and when she had first watched them she had wondered why Haught and Charlie hadn’t touch more than a couple of times.

That at the time she had been glad as contact between them had just left the sharp tang of jealousy upon her tongue.

Where she stood now though, in Shae’s position on the stage, she understood why there was a gap, they were’s dancing with each other. While Shae sang about lovers they danced with her, their hands guiding her movement across the stage, their bodies coming together against her.

As they moved her though, Waverly found herself once again blocking out everything except the redhead and not just because she had told her too. Charlie’s touch was barely even there at all. His hands hovered above her flesh, only making contact by accident, her body brushing only when the choreography left him no option.

He was the very definition of respect.

So was Haught…

But…

She _did_ make contact with hands and body. Her touch gentle but solid as she guided her movements. Her hand moving hers into position to look like she was touching back.

It was all done respectfully and that made it even hotter as she drowned in the thrum of the music and Haught’s darkening gaze.

As the song ended she found herself gazing up into her eyes, her hand pressed against the steady thud of her heart against her palm.

“Okay! Fine! You proved your point, you were right!”

Dolls’ bellow broke the spell that Haught had woven around her and Waverly stepped back, shame flooding her at the thought that she had fallen so completely for an illusion. An illusion that Shae got to experience every night of the tour.

Oh, God!

She danced like that with Shae!

She looked at Shae the same way!

Waverly blanched as a wave of irrational jealousy washed through her along with the sudden thought that Haught and Shae might be lovers. The fact that moments before, she had been telling herself that it was all an illusion created by good choreography, meant nothing as she knew how much it had meant to her.

“I- I’d better go!”

“Wait!”

“Shorty will be wondering where I am!”

Pushing aimlessly through bodies, Waverly rushed through the backstage area, her feet moving aimlessly until she opened a door and found herself on the outside of the arena with her heart pounding and attempting to break, the memory of Haught’s voice calling after her… and absolutely no idea on how to get back to Shorty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna being unashamedly, Wynonna.

“So,” pausing long enough to make her baby sister stiffen warily, Wynonna leaned closer to her so she wouldn’t have to shout to be heard over the combined roar of the crowd and Jeremy and Chrissy. And unbelievably, that was just for the warm-up act as they left the stage. “Who is it this time?”

Waverly shifted around nervously, glancing at her sister’s profile as she gazed at the stage.

She hadn’t expected to be back there so soon… or at all. But not long after they had arrived back in Purgatory, a bike courier had arrived at the bar with an envelope for her. Inside she found a note, signed by Rosita with four tickets for the show that night. In one of the private boxes no less.

One phone call to Rosita later and she had found out that it was a legit offer but she had refused to say why or that it was hers.

She had been trying for months, they all had, to get tickets without any luck as they had quickly sold out even though it had been expanded to run for a whole week. And despite the fact that it would mean seeing the gorgeousness that was Haught in action again… It was just too good an offer to pass up on.

Who she wanted to go with her had been an easy choice.

Chrissy had been her best friend through school as they had grown close while bonding over their shared misery of being social outcasts for nothing they had done personally. She couldn’t help that her daddy had been an abusive drunkard and a Deputy any more than Chrissy could help that her daddy was the current Sheriff of Purgatory.

And then there was Jeremy who she had gotten close to in college during their advanced courses and love of foreign films and sci-fi.

The other person that Waverly had wanted to spend time with was Wynonna, her bounty hunting, hard-drinking older sister. A woman that had shown no interest whatsoever in Shae Pressman’s music or in any music that wasn’t hard rock or mournful country ballads. And she had shocked her by actually saying yes.

At the time, Waverly had thought that her decision to tag along might have had something to do with finding out that there was a free bar but it seemed that Wynonna had something else on her mind and she was like a dog with a bone when she got something on her mind.

Distracting her was not impossible but she would always come back, even if it was months later, and dig the conversation back up to chew on it some more.

“Still waiting for an answer, Babygirl,” Wynonna prodded. “I know that look in your eye.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And really, she didn’t.

“Someone has caught your eye. Which is great ‘cause although joining a nunnery would be an improvement over that man-child you were still dating when I got back, you’re young, single and sexy—”

“God! ‘Nonna, don’t ever call me sexy again!”

“I mean to other people that you’re not related to! Now stop deflecting… The point is… the point is…” she clicked her fingers, making Waverly jump again, as the point came back to her. “The point is that instead of wallowing you should be out there… gettin’ your groove on. Sowing your wild oats. Doing the nasty. Playing hide the sausage… Is any of this ringing any bells for you or did your womanly parts turn to dust waiting for Chump to give you some satisfaction?”

“Wynonna,” Waverly moaned pitifully. “As much as I appreciate it, never give me advice like that again.”

“Then tell me who’s got your panties all in a bunch.”

“First you accuse me of being a dry and wizened old maid of twenty-one and now I’m sex-crazed?”

“One can lead to the other, Babygirl. I just want to know who I need to give the shovel talk to?”

“No one!” Waverly squeaked out in horror. “There’s no one!” Which was kind of true… right? She’s only been enthralled with Haught’s dancing and that in no way meant that she was watching the stage like a hawk just to get a look at a woman that would be leaving town and moving on to the next within a week. “So… no need for any talks, shovel or otherwise, ‘cause there’s no one to talk to!”

Looking at her sister all blustering and floundering, Wynonna wasn’t buying it… and neither was Chrissy going by the arch of her eyebrow. Jeremy would no doubt have agreed if he hadn’t been too busy ogling someone as he walked backwards into the private box after stepping outside to get some more food from the buffet that had been laid on for all the private boxes.

“Wow! Now that man is a tall, rugged glass of… Hey!” Spluttering nervously, Jeremy juggled the food he was carrying, his blush reaching all new levels even with his complexion as the object of his man-crush followed him in and caught the food spilling from his grasp.

“Good day again, Ms Waverly.”

“Hi, Doc.”

“I just called in to make sure that you had everything you needed before the show starts?”

Peeking around the rangy man’s body, Wynonna mouthed a silent ‘is this him?’ at her sister and grinned without shame as he turned his head as quick as a striking snake and gazed at her with the most disarmingly brilliant blue eyes. “Hi there, I’m Wynonna… Waverly’s sister.”

“My older, more annoying sister,” Waverly grumbled. “And everything is amazing, thank you, Doc. I’ll have to find Rosita later and thank her for this. Unless it’s your doing?”

“Alas, I was beaten to the punch as it were. I had better be heading off now but if you need anything, just use the phone right there beside you. There should be a list of numbers depending on what you might need but if you dial 362 that will get straight through to me or if you would rather, 779 for Rosita.” Tipping the brim of the black hat he was actually wearing this time, Doc gave Waverly a quick wink before turning to leave and almost colliding with her wild-haired, blue-eyed, sister. “Ma’am.”

Wynonna let out a low whistle as the man neatly sidestepped her with barely a break in stride and left the room. “Damn! Wonder what a kiss would be like with all that fuzz on his top lip?”

“Yeah…” Jeremy sighed wistfully as he wondered the same.

Rolling her eyes, Wynonna turned her attention back on her sister. “So, Babygirl. That’s a Doc and a Rosita… you sure did make some interesting friends this morning. Any more I should know about?” she fished.

Waverly tried to block all thoughts of a certain redhead from her mind as she stuttered out a, “no.”

Luckily she was saved and doomed by the lights around the arena dimming as the lights lit up the stage in tune to the opening bass that signalled everyone to start losing their minds in anticipation of the first glimpse of Shae.

Waverly was eager to see her too. She was the star. Beautiful and always burning brightly for her fans. But as she saw the dancers moving stealthily into position across the stage, her eyes found and locked upon a shock of red-hair that stood out like a beacon even though it was pulled tightly back in a sleek bun.

Wynonna had to admit it, even though she would deny it if asked… That Shae chick had a set of pipes on her. And while preppy upbeat pop wasn’t her thing. There was a surprising amount of depth and soul in her songs. Enough to keep her interested.

Though, far more interesting was W.W., ‘Watching Waverly’. And what she saw was _very_ interesting. There was definitely someone upon that stage that had her baby sister looking all doe-eyed.

With all the skills Wynonna had amassed on many long and boring stakeouts while hunting bail jumpers, she watched her sister and the stage surreptitiously, taking careful note of where she was looking and when her interest was piqued.

It wasn’t Shae. Though she had thought that maybe it was at first as Waverly’s body would light up with interest. But no. The close-ups on the massive screens and the quieter love ballads seemed to disinterest her the most.

The musicians were out too as Waverly’s eyes were all over the stage, flitting around while they were largely contained to their own areas by their instruments.

That left the dancers. And there was a lot of toned, muscular eye candy there to choose from. Even Wynonna had to admit that but… What would Waverly go for? There were none that looked like Chump Hardy… THANK GOD!

Finally, in the end, she had it narrowed down and her jaw went slack and dropped open. “Waverly Earp!”

“W- What?” Waverly squeaked out at the utterly shocked and incredulous look on Wynonna’s face. The bottom dropped out of her heart at the realisation that somehow, her sister knew. And in its place, nausea rose at the thought that she had disappointed her sister because she liked a woman.

“I can explain!”

“You better! Seriously… a redhead?” Looking back at the stage, Wynonna watched as the willowy woman twirled, leapt and danced around with strength and grace in every line of her body. “She is cute though… I guess,” she added before Waverly could think she was interested in her.

Waverly stared at her sister, her jaw hanging open until Wynonna hooked her chin with a finger and, taking the hint, Waverly closed it, making her teeth click loudly together.

Wynonna’s unexpected words and actions freed Waverly to enjoy herself… Freed her to ogle Haught more openly that was.

She was so beautiful, her face and body reflecting and accentuating the music perfectly and with more passion than she had shown earlier during the rehearsals.

With one exception.

Waverly found herself stiffening with dread as the music started up and she recognised it and Nicole’s placement on the stage as she and Charlie flanked Shae. It was _that_ song, the one she had ‘helped’ them with. And the thought of watching Haught dancing with Shae, showing all that extra passion she was sure was coming… it had her wanting to run.

But…

Even though the music and the song were just as hauntingly sensual with a beat running through the bass that seemed to thud against her lower abdomen, along with the grinding moves of Haught’s hips against hers that were etched into her memory and turned the blood in her veins thick with desire… it was all the same… but so very different.

All the barely contained passion and desire that Waverly had seen and felt from Haught was simply missing. Her movements showed the same distance and overt respect that she had gotten off Charlie while Nicole had guided her so intimately.

The crowd ate it up, baying for more with excited squeals as though they thought they were seeing a connection between two lovers and if they just cheered loud enough they would actually get it on right in front of them where they could record it and upload to their social media.

Waverly’s eyes were transfixed upon the big screen that was showing a close up of Shae with her hand resting over Nicole’s heart. The shot was made possible by their heights being pretty close. But it was Nicole’s eyes that caught Waverly’s attention as the beautiful brown of them framed by the tangle of her now loose hair where it clung to the sweat beading her face, were staring intently right into the camera making Waverly feel exposed as though she was looking only at her.

It had a million and one questions buzzing around Waverly’s mind long the show ended and they made it back to Purgatory.

Was what she had felt with Haught any less fake than what she had seen on stage or had the redhead felt the same as she had? Did it really change anything if she had? Shae was in the midst of a yearlong world tour and would be moving on to a new venue on a week… a new country in two.

Long distance could put a strain on any relationship let alone one just starting off… and who was she trying to fool… Waverly didn’t even know the woman’s first name let alone what she wanted if anything.

Groaning at her own foolishness, Waverly flopped down onto her bed face first.

“Well that was very dramatic, Waves,” Wynonna chuckled as Waverly’s middle fingers rose up to salute her. “Do ya need me to fetch the smelling salts or a bottle of whiskey?”

Waverly just moaned into her pillow and tried to ignore Wynonna in the slim hope that her sister would get the hint and just move on and leave her alone with her thoughts. Not that had ever worked when she was a kid and Wynonna had only grown more stubborn and determined over the years. As was evident by the pitch and yaw of the mattress that nearly tossed her to the floor as Wynonna threw herself upon it and cracked open a bottle.

Flopping on to her back, Waverly scooted up so she could lean against the headboard beside Wynonna as she took a long pull out of the bottle. “I thought you would have to fetch the whiskey?”

Wincing at the burn travelling down her throat to explode in her stomach, Wynonna wiped her mouth off on her sleeve. “I would, this is tequila.”

Rolling her eyes at Wynonna’s smirk, Waverly snatched the bottle out of her hand and took a drink. “Jesus, Wynonna!” she coughed. “Next time steal a bottle of the good stuff from Shorty’s!”

“That’s old Wynonna’s M.O. New Wynonna buys her own way.”

“Well new Wynonna has got terrible tastes ‘cause this tastes like it was brewed in the back of Willie’s pickup.”

“I thought he was running that as a hot tub?”

“Two for one.”

“Gross! But still better than that bubble-gum sake you had,” Wynonna pulled a face, her tongue unfurling out of her mouth in horror.

“Had? You stole my sake?” Waverly sighed in exasperation and swatted at her sister’s shoulder. “Damn it, ‘Nonna! I imported that all the way from Japan!”

“And I saved you from having to taste that abomination! Which you should be thanking me for! So yeah,” she snorted, “you’re welcome!”

Waverly knew better than to try and fight against whatever passed for logic going through Wynonna’s mind when she was guzzling cheap tequila and settled for taking back the bottle of tequila. Though really, the proper punishment would have been to let her drink it alone. But it did help numb the voices running circles in her mind like dogs chasing their own tails.

“What do you want anyway?”

“World peace.”

“Ass! I mean in my bedroom! Why are you and that cheap booze in here?”

“I want to know why the hot redhead you’re banging has got you looking like the world is coming to an end. ‘Cause I could take her out for you.” To prove her prowess, she waved around some finger guns. “Pew! Pew!”

“We’re not banging!”

“You want to though,” Wynonna smirked. “Every time she pumped her hips you looked seconds away from stripping off and throwing your panties at her.”

“Don’t be gross Wynonna. Just because that was what you wanted to do to Doc doesn’t mean I wanted to do the same to Haught.”

“Haught?”

“That’s her name… her surname anyway,” she sighed deeply. “Wynonna… look. I like her… I guess. Damn it, I only met her today! But it doesn’t matter. She’ll be moving on soon and I’ll still be here.”

“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have some fun…”

“You know… that’s what Champ used to call it when he was caught kissing on other girls. ‘Just some harmless fun, Babe… It didn’t mean anything… Chill out!’. And like an idiot, I used to believe him even when kissing became hook-ups in his truck and he said it was my fault for not ‘putting out’.”

“Fuck! Babygirl, if I’d known…”

“You weren’t around ‘Nonna,” Waverly tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice but she saw Wynonna’s wince. “Anyway, I finally realised I was worth more than what he was giving me and now I’m done with all that. I don’t want someone that is tied to me or anything like that but when it comes to a relationship I’m not taking second place anymore.”

“No one should ever have to, Waves. Just… well, don’t close yourself off too much, ‘kay? You might meet the right person… dude, chick or something else, and they could be right but only for that moment… don’t deny yourself those moment waiting for forever.”

“Ya know… kind of shocked that you’re okay with Haught being a woman?”

“Love is love, right? And I have been places, Waves,” Wynonna smirked around the rim of the bottle as she tilted it back. “Let’s just say that a party on Lesbos got a bit wild.”

“You? Wait… What is it like? No! Forget I asked that!” Waverly waved her hands furiously but the light of mischief was well and truly burning in Wynonna’s eyes.

“You mean, you’ve never…? Not even…?” She made kissing noises to get her point across.

“No. I think I’ve always liked girls, they’re so pretty. But no, nothing…”

Until her!

With her gorgeous red hair and stupidly attractive face. And oh my god! Those megawatt dimples when she smiled!

“Mmmhmm…” Wynonna watched as Waverly squirmed around beside her, her face flushed an alarming shade of red. She could guess what, or who had her that way but she didn’t ask. One Earp sister blushing was enough.

And as that one was already Waverly…

“I can’t tell you what all girls are like. Generally though…”

“No! That’s okay…” eyes widening, Waverly tried to cut her off.

“They kiss nicer… softer…”

“Look, I don’t need…”

“Less stubble… usually…”

“Usually?”

“Hey, don’t judge. Babygirl. And when it comes to the sex…”

“No! Don’t come to the sex!” she moaned.

“Oh, but the sex is the best part!”

“I don’t need to hear…”

“Just like the kissing… softer, nicer, more attentive…”

“’Nonna, please shut…”

“Usually takes for fucking ever!”

“What?”

“Yep, that is one lesbian stereotype I can get behind.”

Groaning, Waverly buried her face in her hands and wondered if she could get away with choking Wynonna with a pillow. Surely Sheriff Nedley would give her a head start to escape if not just help her dispose of Wynonna’s body?

“Of course…” Wynonna drawled the words out, waiting for the spark of interest she knew it would light within Waverly because Waverly was nothing if not curious.

“What?” Waverly squeaked out despite an inner voice screaming at her to shut the hell up and not encourage Wynonna!

“Just as there are girls that like to kiss long and slow there are some that go in like they want to scoop your soul out with their tongues. And just as some are as gentle making love, there are some that will rail you with a strap-on like they’re on a mission and they do it so damn well and for soooo long, you forget your own name.”

“’Nonna!”

“Damn, I miss Valdez!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN... I was really tempted to make Wynonna a potato farmer.


	3. Chapter 3

Her hands full with the two crates of beer she had lugged up from the basement all on her own, Waverly backed into the bar, glowering at Wynonna who helped lighten her load by stealing one of the chilled bottles from the top crate and patted her on the ass.

“’Bout time, Babygirl! I was getting parched and you’ve got customers.”

Waverly had been too busy huffing from lugging the crates up the stairs and cursing the fact that Shorty still hadn’t looked into getting some kind of a dumbwaiter fitted to save they… well, her! the pain and aggravation and hadn’t even begun to register the extra level of noise in the bar until then.

Spinning around as best as she could he blinked as she took in the sheer number of people filling the Saloon. Yeah, usually they had a reasonable crowd for such a small town, more in the summer when coaches stopped by so people could ‘drink where Wyatt did’. This… this was a whole other level of crazy!

“Make a hole, people! Fresh beer and crazy chick with a gun coming through!”

“Wynonna!” Waverly hissed at her sister and smiled reassuringly as people who were new and didn’t know what Wynonna was like pressed against each other in an effort to make a space. She was pretty sure that if there had been room, there were more than a few that would have hurdled tabled bolted for the door. “Sorry… so sorry! Just ignore her.”

Slipping around the bar to join an harassed looking Shorty, Waverly put the crates down and spun to slap Wynonna’s shoulder as she tried to snaffle another bottle from the crates. “Out! No patrons behind the bar!”

Straightening her top, Waverly fixed a smile of greeting on her face and got to work filling orders until there was a free moment and she could check on Shorty who was leaning against the corner of the bar still looking shell-shocked.

“I don’t know how you do that.” Taking a bottle she was offering out of her hand, he clinked it against hers and took a slow pull of the chilled beer.

He had started off just running the bar, serving whatever swill the brewery he was licenced too sent him but he had always been happier when he was tinkering with his recipes and brewing his own. It took his mind off the fact that the bar really wasn’t doing well. And then Waverly had talked him into bringing his beer to the front and it had just taken off from there.

His beer outsold the commercial swill. The customers came in. And when the time came he had let the licence go so he could sell his own without the fear of repercussions from them and had worked to get only the best booze in so he could treat his customer’s right.

Waverly was always better dealing with the customer’s themselves though. Greeting them with a smile and a wave that left them putty in her hands. And even at the busiest of times, which this far outstripped, she still managed to make each one of them feel like they were the only customer there.

“Wonder where they all come from?”

“Oh, according to Dave over there,” she nodded down the bar, “it seems that what we supplied at the arena went down real well.”

“Really?” Giving up on trying to work out which of the group of young fellows looked like a ‘Dave’, Shorty stared at Waverly as he absorbed what she had said. “All these are because of that?”

“All these… are because you’re the best, Shorty.” Raising up on tiptoes, Waverly pressed a quick kiss to his stubbly cheek. “I’d best go get some more crates up.”

“I’ll go… if you leave me alone up here I think they’ll eat me alive.”

Chuckling as he left, Waverly looked out around the now calmer Saloon as she wiped down the bar. The sight of a familiar hat and moustache over by the pool table had her looking closer, her eyes widening as she spotted Doc and Dolls about to be hustled by Wynonna.

Like a curtain being pulled back from her eyes she realised that there were faces she had glimpsed in passing from the arena, including many of the dancers!

Waverly searched the crowd, her eyes raking over heads in search of red but her height and the numbers crowing around the bar made it all but impossible. And climbing up onto the top of the bar would be a touch unseemly… right?

A white Stetson being placed carefully down on the bar before her drew Waverly’s gaze. The elegant, feminine fingers caressing across the fabric pulled her in further. Nostrils flaring, Waverly followed the motion of the hands, her eyes travelling slowly up over strong forearms exposed by the rolled back sleeves of a dark blue button up shirt.

A small sound left Waverly’s mouth as her eyes found that the shirt’s top buttons were undone a wonderful if unseemly amount that revealed the lines of her collarbones and the shadowy dip between where she could see just the hint of the swell of her breasts when she moved a little.

Soft pink lips curved as she finally made it up that far. A slow slide of tongue wet them in a way that had heat coiling through Waverly’s body as though it had touched her. Somehow, Waverly made it up to Haught’s eyes, her eager eyes taking in every inch of her beauty along the way. She wasn’t sure what she expected as such after taking so long to get there but her honey brown eyes were soft and gentle and still managed to hold a hint of self-assured confidence that had Waverly blushing to find it fixed upon her.

“Hi.”

“Hi. Could I get a cappuccino to go? I’m kidding!” Nicole chuckled softly as her jaw dropped and she floundered for a moment at the request. “Could I have a light beer please?”

Waverly reached blindly below the bar for a bottle, not daring to take her eyes off the redhead even for a moment even as she popped the cap off. “Shoot, I’ll go get you a glass.”

“No! Reaching out, Nicole gently restrained her just with a touch of her fingers upon her wrist. She drew back, watching the way her fingers slid across her soft skin “I’m okay without. I- I never got to introduce myself… I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught. And you’re Waverly Earp.”

“That’s me.”

Heat pooled through Waverly’s body from the point of contact between them as she took Nicole’s offered hand. Just with that one touch she felt every guiding touch she had felt upon her body the day before as though it was happening right there and then.

She wasn’t sure if Nicole felt the same but her brown eyes grew darker as her pupils widened, her gaze growing hungrier the longer they touched.

“Hey could we get some more beer over here?!”

Waverly pulled back, dropping Nicole’s hand back to the bar. A blush blazed across her face as she realised that not only was the bar still packed to the old oak beams but she had actually been leaning across the bar in anticipation of a kiss.

“I’d better go…” Waverly’s chest heaved with pain at the thought of doing so.

“I’ll be right here.”

“Yeah?” Waverly’s hopeful smile was met with a breath-taking display of dimples that nearly had her tripping over her own feet as she turned to see to the annoying, thirsty patrons.

As she served, Waverly kept an eye on Nicole, watching as she sipped on her bottle of beer and interacted with the people she knew. Mostly though, her soft gaze was on her just as much. Seeing Nicole come to the end of her drink, Waverly quickly ripped the top off another and put it on the bar in front of her to make sure she had a reason to stay. Then, not really sure what possessed her, Waverly plucked Nicole’s Stetson off the bar and put it on her own head, tilting it back with a wink. A soft laugh followed as she sauntered off to serve more customers until there was finally another lull and she could make her way back over again.

Nicole stopped Waverly as she went to take her hat off and return it to her. “Don’t… I mean, if you want to you can but… Well, it looks good on you.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, for sure!” Nicole dropped her hand back to the bar, her fingers nudging and lightly caressing Waverly’s as they nudged against hers. It was a simple touch that felt more intimate than it should have. But then so did every touch with her. “Did you enjoy the concert last night?”

“Yes, it was… wait. Did you arrange for the tickets?”

“Yeah. I hope that was okay? I was afraid I’d done something wrong after you left how you did and I kind of had Doc check the visitor logs for me. God, I sound like such a stalker.”

“Maybe just a little,” holding up her hand she measured off just how little it was. “It was sweet of you though,” she quickly assured her. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me before.”

“Then they’re idiots.” Lifting a hand, Nicole gently grazed the tips of her fingers across Waverly’s jaw, her thumb lightly caressing across the cheek where the edge of her smile awaited her. “I would do anything to see you smile at me like that.”

The smile slipped from Waverly’s face to be replaced by a look of pure hunger as her eyes grew lidded and flickered between her lips and eyes.

“You lot, always got to have someone in every port. It’s sickening how you all treat people. Fuck ‘em and leave ‘em! Sickening!”

Nicole pulled back sharply, her eyes narrowed with anger as she tried to find who had spoken but the bar was still too crowded for her to see.

“Waverly—” her heart sank at the empty space where Waverly had been standing and the sight of her Stetson back on the bar in front of her.

Nicole lingered until Shorty called time a couple of hours later and started sending everyone home but Waverly never returned to the bar. She tried to ask Shorty to pass on a message for her but all she got was a glower that followed her as she picked up her Stetson and left with a heavy heart wondering where she had gone wrong… How she had so completely misread Waverly’s interest.

“Nicole! Haught! Wait up!”

Nicole grimaced as Charlie swung his arms across her shoulder, putting his full weight on her. “Dude!”

“We’re heading on into the city to check out some dance clubs. You’re coming with, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Come on… won’t be the same without you!”

“I think I would rather just head on back to the hotel and get some rest.” Rest and lick her wounds.

“Planning on ‘ordering in’, huh?”

Shaking her head at his exaggerated wink and the sickening term they’d adopted to mean picking up a fan or prostitute for sex, Nicole pushed his arm off her shoulder. She knew that some of the guys on tour liked to take advantage of the fans wanting to get close to Shae.

The fans used them and they used the fans.

It happened.

But it was nasty and she knew that Shae didn’t approve but she couldn’t stop what they did in their private time other than to let them know in any uncertain terms that they better be respectful and make sure no one was underage or she would call the police on them herself.

Nicole did what she could and had had to escort more than her fair share of drunk woman out of a potentially bad situation so they could sober the hell up.

Doing the right thing didn’t always pay off though as it had somehow led to her getting a reputation as a player.

If it kept someone safe though, she would do it a thousand times over despite the rumours and teasing that came her way.

“Hey, Nic!” Sidling up, Rosita slipped her arm around Nicole’s waist, a gentle squeeze of fingers telling her to calm down. “Want to catch a ride back with us?” She nodded to where a blacked out SUV was pulled up, John Henry leaning against it with just the glow of his match lighting his face as he lit one of the nasty assed cheroots he favoured. Sucking on her teeth at his nasty habit, Rosita steered Nicole away from Charlie… who was so drunk he had already forgotten they were there and was jogging in a swerved line towards a gaggle of the dancers.

“Dumbasses. They better be good to go first thing or Dolls will have their hides.”

“Thanks for the save, Rosie.”

“What happened back there, Dollface?”

“Just jerks being jerks and I wasn’t in the mood to be jerked around.”

“I meant in the bar! You and Waverly seemed to be hitting it off.” Which was putting it mildly as from where she had been sitting she was sure the bar was going to go up in flames from the heated looks they were giving each other. “Did she catch sight of those pleats you’ve got ironed into those jeans or something?”

“No,” Nicole huffed at the teasing. “I don’t know… maybe she’s straight and she remembered… or I just saw what I wanted to see.”

“Come here…” Rosita wrapped Nicole up in a hug. For all the confidence she had as a dancer she was such a tender hearted softie and she hated to hear the dejection in her voice. “Come on,” pulling back she planted a kiss on her forehead, “let’s get you back to the hotel and have a nightcap.”

Obeying the tiny shove of Rosita’s hand, Nicole nodded to Doc who was determinedly puffing all he could out of his cheroot despite Rosita’s glower. She climbed up into the back of the vehicle and flopped down into the middle of the seat next to Shae.

“Nice disguise, boss,” she smirked as she took in what her childhood friend and now superstar was wearing as a disguise. “How did you find so much stonewashed denim outside of the 80’s anyway?”

“Less of the boss, you know I hate it when you call me that. As for the denim… I found it surprising… very easily around here. I’d forgotten how denim and flannel seem to be in endless supply in Canada.”

“At least it’s comfy.”

“Even with the pleats?”

“Damn it! I didn’t iron in pleats! The jeans are new!”

“Ahh.”

“Ahh, what?”

“The road to true love hit a snag?”

“More like a detour into a flaming pit,” Nicole sighed. “Speaking of true love though, I should move over.”

“Don’t be silly,” Shae pushed Nicole back in her seat as Rosita climbed in. “I think we’re perfectly capable of keeping our hands off each other until we get to our room.”

“That will be a first then.” Sitting back with a sigh, Nicole gazed mournfully at the now dark Saloon.

“Someone will turn up, Nic. You’re only twenty-six. Not like you’re ready to draw your pension and stick one foot in the grave yet.”

“I really thought it was her though, Shae. She felt important to me. Like there was something big between us. She just felt like the one. Ya know?”

Waverly sighed as she watched from the privacy afforded by the darkness in the bar as the SUV passed by. As soon as Nicole had left the bar, her shoulders slumped dejectedly, she had followed, the need to apologise for her actions at the vile words she had head and explain the fears that haunted her for how Champ had cheated on her and treated her.

Wynonna would probably just encourage to seize the moment but that wasn’t her. And every look and touch from Nicole had made her ache and dream of more until the unknown man had torn straight through to her deepest fears with a few words and she had panicked.

The fear born at the thought of losing Nicole if she walked away had felt like ice running through her veins, freezing all the goodness she had felt building at Nicole’s touch. It had hurried her steps, made her feel brave and determined to say her piece and at least give Nicole the chance.

And then she had heard Charlie and all too easily understood what he had meant by Nicole ordering in. it was sickening and abhorrent but apart from shrugging out from under his arm, Nicole had said nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And then she had walked away with Rosita intimately wrapped around her and driven away.

As she closed the blinds, Waverly released a shuddering breath. She felt like she had won and lost everything her heart desired all within the space of a couple of hours.

“Are you okay, Waverly?”

“Yeah. You go on home, Shorty. I’ll lock up and spend the night here.” Anything to avoid a round of twenty questions from Wynonna on the off chance she was awake and sober enough to grill her.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Waverly…” Shorty sighed heavily knowing that Waverly was anything but fine. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze and pat. “I don’t know what went on tonight but I do know you’ll be okay.”

Fixing a brighter smile than she was feeling on her face, Waverly gave him a brief hug. “Thanks, Shorty. Now go so I can lock this place up.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then. Bright and early! We’ve got another delivery to make at the arena.”

“Okay.”

It wasn’t until long after Shorty had left and Waverly was laying down on the lumpy double bed in the small apartment upstairs that her brain kicked in and she remembered what he’d said.

With a thick moan she buried her face into the pillow and let out a muffled scream.

She couldn’t let Shorty down… and yet, there was a part of her whispering that she wouldn’t even if she could… because she wanted to see Nicole again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God! Not sure if i want to hug them or lock them up somewhere until they talk.
> 
> Charlie and unknown asshole i just want to slap.


	4. Chapter 4

Waverly didn’t suppose she could really call it a sense of déjà vu as she looked up at the billboard of Shae on the side of the arena again but the feeling of nervous excitement was there again even if it wasn’t to do with the woman on the poster but rather the redhead inside the building that she was equal parts hoping to run into again and dreading the prospect.

Her sleep had been restless, to say the least. Full of dreams of intensely heated, meaningful glances and gentle touches that her dream state had been all too willing to push to what had felt like a natural conclusion of writhing bodies that had left Waverly so entangled in her sheets that she had tumbled to the floor when she’d tried to get up.

It was ridiculous.

Nicole Haught was everything that should have sent her running in the opposite direction. Waverly wanted security and commitment. She wanted someone that would be there for her, for once in her life.

Nicole.

Even if Waverly hadn’t done a bit of lazy Google research she knew that Nicole was the opposite of what she wanted from a partner.

Nicole flitted around the world following the work. A work that while Waverly was enthralled by the passion and dedication that got her to the level she was at where she was in demand… Waverly couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t a very stable profession.

On the flip side of that coin though was the fact that that amount of dedication to training and getting where she was… that took a lot of commitment to sticking to what she wanted even when the going got rough.

But… flipping again… that was a commitment to her job, her passion.

When it came to normal passion… Thanks to the seedier side of Google searches that had led to a site that was basically groupies raving about who they had landed on tours… Anyone to do with Shae seemed to be popular from what Waverly had been able to make out and she had seen far too many photos of Nicole with her arms wrapped around women and stories from them as to how they had been dragged back to her room… a car… thrown up against a wall backstage… really there was apparently no end to the places Nicole had taken them to ravage them.

Nicole was her own person, she could sleep with whoever she wanted, as many as she wanted and Waverly would never shame her for that. But it was sickening to read and Waverly had quickly closed the site down and scrubbed her browser history clean.

Unfortunately scrubbing her mind wasn’t so easy… Not for someone that was a history buff that researched, learned dead languages, and solved complex puzzles just for fun.

Nope, Nicole was _everything_ she should be running away from. Waverly’s own needs and research told her that.

But…

Those eyes, so cocky and full of confidence one moment, so soft and almost timid the next. Her touch, always so soft and tender, so passionate but respectful as they mirrored her expressive brown eyes.

Nicole Haught was a puzzle that Waverly wanted to study and pick apart until she could work out why someone so wrong felt so important.

The tiny devil Wynonna sitting on her shoulder, and the full sized just as devilish but less imaginary version, kept whispering that she should just throw herself at the dancer. Drag her to the nearest flat surface, horizontal or vertical, and just get her out of her system! And after her dreams, Waverly was finding it difficult to remember why that was a terrible suggestion.

Leaning over the seats, Wynonna rolled her eyes as she took in the sight of her sister obviously mulling something over in her big brain. And despite the fact that her gaze seemed to be locked on the poster of Shae, Wynonna was betting that it was a certain tall redhead she was thinking about.

“Waves… Hey! Waverly!” tossing a wadded up piece of paper at the back of Waverly’s head she finally got her sister’s attention… and a glower. “It’s finally our turn. Get your ass back in the truck, Babygirl.”

Scooping up the paper Wynonna had hit her with, Waverly climbed back into the truck before Wynonna could start it moving. “Littering, really?” she waved the piece of paper at her and contemplated bouncing it off her thick skull. “Where did you…?” Waverly’s voice trailed off as she took in the otherwise immaculate interior of the truck and tried to work out where Wynonna had found the paper to…

“Oh, you didn’t!” Picking up the order book from the seat beside her, Waverly hurriedly smoothed out the paper in her hand and fit the ragged edges to where it had been torn from the book.

“We’re supposed to get this signed, ‘Nonna!” she moaned.

Waving a hand dismissively, Wynonna edged the truck along to where security was waiting to check them in. “It sacrificed itself so you didn’t end up standing there all day mooning over Haught.”

“I was not…! I was not mooning,” she ended on a hissed whisper as the burly security looked at her with a threatening flex of muscles as he tried to work out if she was a threat or not. “Why did Shorty ask you to come with me again?”

“All I know is that the dude called me at some god-awful hour and whined about his ankle and asked me to come help.”

Waverly was suspicious, to say the least. Shorty could have asked anyone in town; Pete, Bryce, or even Willie and he was in his seventies! And yet he enlisted Wynonna? A Wynonna who actually hadn’t grumbled grouched the whole journey like she usually would?

“Oh. My. God!”

“What?”

“What did you do? Did you threaten Shorty or toss him down the stairs so you could come?”

“Waves… You are making the nice security guard nervous.” Wynonna tried a reassuring finger wave and a smile combo but the man just looked even more nervous and started muttering into his radio out of the corner of his mouth like the damn fool thought they couldn’t see him. “Waverly, so help me if they make me hand over Peacemaker,” she hissed at her sister.

“You’re ar—!” Waverly glared at Wynonna over the restraining hand she slapped over her mouth. What in the hell was she thinking, bringing a weapon with her to deliver beer?! And it wasn’t like the bluntline special was built for subtlety with its oversized barrel!

“Is there a problem here?” Doc’s eyes widened as he managed to get a look into the cab of the truck. “Well, now, if it isn’t the Earp sisters. If you have come for a rematch Wynonna I am afraid there is no pool table here.”

“Guess I’ll just have to wait for another time to take the clothes off your back.” Keeping her hand in place across Waverly’s mouth despite her tugging and mumbled protests, Wynonna smiled at the ruggedly handsome cowboy winsomely. Obviously, there was something _seriously_ wrong with her smile though as it just made him look nervous too. “Have I got something stuck between my teeth?”

Prising Wynonna’s hand away from her mouth, Waverly smiled at Doc. “We’re just here to make another delivery, Doc.”

“Ahhh. That will indeed be most welcome. Maybe this time I will be able to secure some of that fine brew for myself.”

“Doc,” Wynonna purred, “I would hook up with you any time.”

“She means hook you up with some!”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Wynonna!”

Chuckling softly in equal parts delight and bemusement, Doc stepped back to give the large vehicle room. “If you would be so good as to sign them in, Bobby. They’re good.” Though with Wynonna good was no doubt stretching the meaning of the word.

“Hey, cowboy! Any chance I could score a guided tour with you later?”

“I would be delighted to arrange that for you. If I am not around when you are ready just ask for someone to contact me.”

As the truck drove by… at a speed he was sure was far in excess of the limits posted, Doc pondered on whether he should inform Rosita that Waverly was there or maybe even Nicole herself with how distressed she had been after leaving the Saloon.

It was probably unwise though. When it came to her friends, Rosita was _very_ protective and liable to react too strongly. Whereas he felt that affairs of the heart, or just affairs in general, were best left to be resolved by the couple in question without outside interference no matter how well-meaning.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t be nearby if they did happen across each other though. Just to make sure for if Rosita or Shae happened across them, they would without a doubt call for security whether Nicole showed signs of distress or not. And if it wasn’t him that answered security would respond to their agitation and frogmarch poor Waverly out.

And that would do nought for public relations…

Nor for the instant connection he had seen between the pair. He had no feelings on the subject of love at first sight or soul mates… Lust at first sight now that was a feeling he was willing to get behind. But if there was someone out there just for him, someone he was meant to be with, he had yet to meet them.

“John Henry, you are growing soft in your old age.” Though… “Maybe not that soft,” he mused as he watched Wynonna bending over to afford him a view of her ass in her ridiculously tight pleather pants. That was something else he could be quite willing to get behind. And going by the knowing smirk and wink she threw his way over her shoulder, Doc was willing to bet his moustache that she would be very willing.

Tilting his hat to the sisters, Doc left the parking area to the security teams that were supposed to be taking care of everything there and made his way backstage to where a makeshift dance studio had been put together for rehearsals that didn’t require the main stage.

Before he even opened the door he could hear Xavier barking out orders even over the pounding rhythmic beat of music being pumped out over the speakers and the moans and groans of the dancers that were almost as loud.

Xavier was always careful when it came to consuming alcohol simply, Doc was sure, so he could give the dancers hell the following day. And the dancers never seemed to learn how to control themselves or know where their limits were after an exhausting show.

Dehydration and alcohol didn’t mix and they never learned.

Stepping into the room, as expansive as it was, Doc swore he could smell the alcohol dripping from their pores vying with the acrid stench of vomit as the intense work out proved to be too much for several of them.

Usually, Doc would have had some sympathy for them but he’d had far too many reports from the local Police of drunken behaviour that required addressing before it escalated and their actions reflected on Shae.

“Hey, Doc. Keep moving!” he barked as he saw several of the dancers trying to take advantage of Doc distracting him. He nodded in satisfaction as they got back to action and moved to stand at Doc’s side. “Everything okay?”

“Just keeping an eye on everything, Xavier. Is Ms Haught not with you today?”

“I had to send her to go work off some tension on her own.”

“Oh?”

“Not that she deserved to be here with this bunch of idiots anyway but Charlie opened his fool mouth about something and she damn near flipped him across the room.”

Doc let out a low whistle.

Anyone else he would have accused them of an exaggeration of the truth. But Dolls was too uptight about things that happened when he was ‘on duty’ to the point that for the first year he had known him, Doc had become convinced that the man did not know how to smile.

“When she returns could you let me know?”

“I would but…”

“You forgot your damn radio again, didn’t you?” Doc sighed.

“You know I hate to listen to it squawk. Doc,” Xavier stopped the other man before he could leave. “Is there something I need to be made aware of about Haught?”

Doc lowered his voice even though the music should have been more than enough to muffle his words before they reach other ears. “She was just out of sorts last night and I wanted to make sure she was quite okay.”

Xavier looked at him intently, going over what he had heard and what he knew of Doc’s nature. “That girl is here again?”

“They both are here doing another delivery. I do not know if they would care to run into each other or not but…”

“…Nicole was out of sorts last night,” Dolls nodded in understanding. “I will keep an eye on her… on both of them if she stops by.”

Doc tipped his hat in thanks.

Xavier Dolls could be a hard ass and a bit of a dick… as he was sure Charlie would agree when he was done vomiting in the corner… but the man could be surprisingly perceptive when it came to reading people and situations even without much being said.

Rosita had commented more than once that they somehow managed to have meetings and got shit done just by looking at each other and nodding in some weird ‘dude’ way.

With things safely under Dolls’ control there, Doc left to go check on the security elsewhere… his seemingly aimless meander carefully plotted to bring him back to where the Earp girls were hopefully still busy before they wandered off.

Wynonna watched silently from where she was busy pretending to look at the other displays of goods while Waverly pretended not to be looking up at every noise, thirsty for just a glimpse of a tall glass of redhead while she restocked the fridges and made sure there were enough leaflets around to catch the eye of anyone wanting to know more.

“Don’t worry, sis. I’ll let you know if she turns up at all.”

“I’ve no idea what or who you’re talking about!” Waverly growled dismissively.

The tightening of Waverly’s spine and shoulders called her sister a liar but Wynonna kept that to herself… for the moment.

“Okay, so you wouldn’t be interested if I told you I saw the ginger poptart when I used the little girl’s room earlier,” Wynonna smirked knowingly to herself as the bottles in Waverly’s hands clinked together like the spike of a blatant lie on a lie detector.

An alcoholic lie detector, who knew?

Maybe she could employ the bottle technique on the way back to Purgatory if Waverly refused to spill of what had happened at the bar the night before beyond ‘it just wasn’t meant to be’. Unless she was really out of touch when it came to relationships, which Wynonna didn’t believe for one split second, Waverly and that Haught chick had been into each other to the point that she had considered hosing them down before they had set fire to the bar. Unfortunately… or maybe not, she had gotten distracted by how amazing Doc and Dolls’ asses had looked bent over the pool table to the point that she had actually almost lost a game and the next time she had looked up from soundly beating their bubble-butts so soundly that Doc had had to leave, all she had seen was a dejected looking redhead trying to persuade Shorty to give Waverly a note.

“I’ll be sure to avoid that area then.”

Taking the clanging bottles of beer out of Waverly’s hands, Wynonna set them aside and gently placed her hands on Waverly’s shoulders to stop her from walking away. “Babygirl, I don’t know what went down between you two last night but…”

“Nothing happened.”

“Did you want it to?”

“No!” _Yes!_ “I’m just confused ‘Nonna,” she moaned quietly. “What I feel with her feels so sudden and so… BIG! Like she’s really important to me… but I can’t deal with her lifestyle. I want more. And I know you think I should just go have fun. And go knows part of me, a huge, hormonal, flaming ladybug side wants to just…”

“Ride her until you can’t see straight?” Wynonna offered helpfully as Waverly stuttered and started flapping her hands.

“I think seeing ‘straight’ is already a problem,” Waverly winked cheekily.

“Well, look at you,” Wynonna smirked proudly. “Making with the gay puns already.”

“I want her Wynonna, but I’m scared that if I- ya know… Yeah that,” she slapped at Wynonna’s hands as she made some weird scissoring motion with her fingers. “I’m scared that it won’t be enough. That I’ll want more than she wants to give and I’ll get my heart broken.”

“This feels like a gay panic attack and some major pre-u-hauling going on in your mind there, Babygirl. Did you talk to her or were you just too busy eye-fucking each other to discuss if you wanted to move in with each other, adopt forty cats and make babies together? And yes! I know you couldn’t get each other pregnant before you say anything smartassed!”

“I was more worried about the thought of forty cats. Twenty tops. That sounds a more reasonable number.”

“The point is! You need to stop sabotaging your chance of happiness and talk to her. Maybe she wants the same things as you… Maybe she doesn’t—”

“There were all these pictures and stories online about her sleeping around, ‘Nonna!”

“Really, you’re going to pass judgement on her based on a Google search? Did I teach you nothing about how the internet lies when I sent you those pictures of me making out with Jason Momoa? The only stories you should believe on there are ones about Sasquatch and what a douche-canoe Trump is.”

“Wait! You believe in Sasquatch?”

“Just stop with the self-flagellation and talk to her, Waves.”

Within the blink of an eye, Wynonna was left looking at an empty space where Waverly had been. “That’s okay! I’ll finish up here! You go on and… yeah.” She finished as the elevator doors slid shut.

“Good luck, Babygirl.”

Whistling under her breath, Wynonna popped a cap off a bottle of beer and settled back to wait on her sister… or Doc. Doc would be a welcome distraction before she was actually forced to do some work.

The quiet ding of the elevator and the barely there swish of its doors had Wynonna shifting eagerly. And no, she wasn’t posing herself into a seductive lean that ended up a flailing of limbs as her feet started to slide on the polished floor.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she fixed a smile on her face ready to great Doc.

Only it wasn’t Doc.

It was a redhead.

But not the redhead that Waverly was looking for.

_Damn Star Trek!_

It was, she realised, a very smartly dressed, killer heel wearing, redhead that she knew.

“Mercedes?”

“Earp? Wynonna! God, you look good!”

“So do you.”

“Oh, don’t be fooled,” Mercedes gestured to her hot pink woollen jacket and stylish black pencil skirt with a practised wave of her hand. “Way down deep, I’m still just the spoilt little rich girl who slept with half of Purgatory High.” She smirked wryly.

“Only because genuinely poor me was doing the other half,” Wynonna grinned back.

“Bitch! Bring it in!”

Wynonna blinked in shock as the woman that had actually been a true friend to her even when the rest of Purgatory had been trying to run her out of town or have her committed, enveloped her in a tight hug that flung Wynonna instantly back to the many late nights they had spent drinking, doing pot, and other things that tasted of each other’s chapsticks, in an effort to avoid thinking about what everyone thought of them.

God but she smelled as good as ever!

“What’s the second most hated chick in Purgatory doing back after, what?”

“Twelve years.” Reluctantly loosening her hold on Wynonna, Mercedes trailed her hands down Wynonna’s arms as she stepped back just a little. “Actually I’m one of Shae’s assistants. Mostly buying property for investments and charity purposes.”

“Not where I expected the girl who used to steal beers from the Gas Barn to end up.”

“Me either,” Mercedes chuckled wryly. “The job kind of found me and we get along I think. And you?”

“Today, just helping out Waverly set this lot up. Usually… bounty hunter.”

“Now if you had said you had a bounty on your head that would have been more expected for the girl I knew. I’m glad we both managed to turn it around though.”

The sudden vibration of her phone in her hand jolted Mercedes back to reality and made her startlingly aware of just how much she had been staring at Wynonna’s lips. “I- erm, I’ve got a meeting to get to. Maybe we could catch up again soon though?” she asked hopefully.

“I’d like that. I would like that a lot,” Wynonna mumbled to herself as she watched the sway of Mercedes’ hips just a little too intently as she walked away. Her time away from Purgatory and the smothering control of her parents had obviously done Mercedes good. She looked calmer, more confident… the rough edges polished to a sexy, shimmering, pencil skirt wearing, shine.

“Calm down, flaming ladybug.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid that I still can't say which way Wynonna is going to swing, if any, with a relationship. That woman seems to have chemistry and the hots for everyone! And after the YarnText between Doc and Jeremy I can't help thinking that Doc is swinging between Dolls and Wynonna in this o.O  
> They are mostly secondary characters in this though and the next chapter will be getting back to the WayHaught.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Shae's dancers I have Lady Gaga's in mind... as such I see Nicole's style as a cross of Amanda Balen's...
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFNdIkfZQpI>
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> The short haired blonde at 1:20 (she was also one of the main dancers in the traffic dance in La La Land as well as being on Glee and Agent Carter (yes, i might have a bit of a crush on her ;) ).
> 
> And... Caity Lotz...
> 
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbbEZ0l1_o8> (wish i could find footage of her dancing for Gaga.

Although Waverly had her all-important backstage security badge hanging in plain sight the whole time, she had to fight the urge to duck out sight every time she saw or heard anyone as she wandered the corridors. She glanced through every window and partially open door for just a glimpse of the beacon of Nicole’s red hair to guide her.

Her heart soared at the sound of a rhythmic beat coming from a set of double doors ahead as a figure burst out from them and spun in a desperate, almost panicked, circle.

With a smile fixed in place, Waverly raised a hand to try and catch the woman’s attention but, with a sweat-soaked face that was shifting from ghostly white to green, she barged past, her eyes wide and frantic above the hand clasped over her mouth as she dove through a doorway marked with a WC.

Waverly winced in sympathy at the sound of wretched heaving that reached her even before the door had shut. She wondered if she should go check on her but… well, she knew from experience that vomiting was kind of a private thing… And she had vaguely recognised the woman as being one of the dancers. Usually, she was better at remembering names and faces but, in all fairness all she had been able to see was red.

With her goal in sight, Waverly backed away from the restroom door and turned on her heel.

“Jesus bean!”

Clutching her chest, Waverly clutched at the front of the camo tank top covered chest she had almost ploughed into as strong hands grasped her elbows to keep her steady before she could tip over onto her ass. A move she was grateful for as she was busy trying to learn how to breathe and trying to blink away the started flashing going on behind her eyelids.

“Oh, you made me pee a little!”

Flustered at her own words, Waverly stepped back and smiled sheepishly as she looked to see just who had scared her to death and stopped her from taking a tumble at the same time. The sight of Xavier Dolls’ handsome and very impassive face looking down at her just made her want to sink into the floor.

“Hiiiii…”

“Come to watch rehearsals again, Ms Earp? I should warn you, it’s a little _messy_ in there today.”

Waverly winced at the thought of what that probably meant as another round of heaving sounded out from behind the restroom door with a wretched intensity that almost turned her hardened stomach. And she had witnessed a lot working at Shorty’s on a weekend… and that was not to mention the hell that seemed to happen every time the chilli cook-offs took place.

“I- eh- actually I was hoping to get a word with Nicole… if that was okay?”

“She’s not here right now.” Dolls gazed at the young beauty intently, taking in the disappointment that had her sagging and her hazel eyes welling up with tears. He had intended to just send her on her way and contact John Henry to let him know that the Earp girl was on the loose but the utter despondency in her eyes managed to soften even him.

“Try gym two, it’s on the other side of the arena in section H.”

He was left blinking in bemusement as Waverly bounced away in a cloud of soft brown hair and a beaming smile. Lifting his hand he touched the side of his face, holding onto the feel of the kiss she had planted upon his cheek.

She was certainly a contrast to her sister. Both were forces of nature but Waverly was a bright summer’s day compared to the intense electric storm that was Wynonna.

No wonder Haught had been floating from the moment she had laid eyes on her. Now, he just hoped that whatever had happened, they could sort it out so the spark of happiness instead of despair and anger would return to Nicole’s eyes.

“Jeremy!” Dolls called the eager young assistant that was a new addition to their team over. “Find John Henry for me and tell him there’s a possible code rainbow in gym two. But, before you do that… go in there,” he gestured to the restroom, “and tell Beth that if last night she thought it was okay to get pissed and start stripping and giving lap dances in a club then when she wants to puke another lung up she can keep dancing and throw up in front of everyone else!”

Patting Jeremy on the shoulder, Dolls smirked at the pitiful moan coming from the restroom. They deserved everything they got for letting themselves and him down.

Now he just hoped that he hadn’t read the Earp girl wrong and let Nicole down by going against what he had promised Doc.

Waverly fidgeted with the edge of her top and worried at her lip with her teeth as nerves threatened to get the better of her. She had been okay making her way there despite the maze-like corridors that conspired against her… seriously why was section C next to section K? Had they just thrown the letters over a plan of the building?

Finally, it was there though.

Right before her all labelled neatly in black letters on white.

‘Section H - Gym 2’.

And suddenly, Waverly was questioning every step she had taken to get there.

“Get it together, Earp,” she mumbled quietly to herself before sucking in a breath and squaring her shoulders determinedly.

Her heart pounded in her chest, kicking to the same rhythm as the beat of the music she could feel against the tips of her fingers as she pressed them to the door that stood as the last barrier between herself and Nicole.

Waverly pushed against the door, easing it open just enough to squeeze through as the music beckoned her inside.

The gym was of a good size, packed with all manner of well-maintained exercise machine but what drew Waverly’s eyes towards a large area kept clear of them was, as usual, red.

The red of Nicole’s red flowing free and untamed, whipping around her face as she danced before a wall of floor to ceiling mirrors that ran along the entire wall.

Not wanting to disturb her, Waverly carefully, quietly, closed the door behind her and slowly made her way closer, keeping out of sight as she drank her in.

She had never thought about it until then but dancing for a show was following someone else’s choreography. The choreography that had been designed to showcase Shae’s music and Shae’s skills when she joined the dancer's routines while singing.

Calling it dumbed down would have done it a disservice as it required a lot of skill and stamina. But compared to how Nicole was dancing right then… how she just flowed with the music, her whole body so elegantly poised from head to toe and the tips of her fingers as she pushing herself through all the moves and all the styles _she_ was capable of... well, there was no comparison.

It was breath-taking to watch even though, or maybe because, she could see what seemed to be anger in Nicole’s dancing being resolved as she worked from a high energy routine that, while still silky smooth, looked like it would have been at home taking out some bad guys with all the leaping and high kicks, to an elegant glide of a more lyrical style that found Waverly suddenly aware that Nicole’s eyes were firmly locked upon her own.

As though there was a higher power at work, guiding their movements to align them perfectly… The music changed, shifting to a calmer rhythm that found Waverly gently eased into Nicole’s arms.

There were no words spoken as none were needed. There was just them. Moving together, Nicole guiding and encouraging, Waverly responding as though she was born for that moment.

Their bodies flow and communicate as two became one. And while Waverly wasn’t sure if she believed in the concept of soul mates, right there and then, her body fitting perfectly into the warm curve of Nicole’s body, Waverly felt sure that they were meant to be, and that if there were alternate dimensions or realities, reincarnation… no matter what, they were destined to be together.

As before, Waverly found herself gazing up as Nicole dipped her in a low, sweeping move and pulled her smoothly back upright. Their bodies coming together on the last beat of the music.

With the music ended, Waverly felt the beat continue in her pulse that throbbed through her body as their heavy breathing pressed them intimately together from hip to breasts. She wanted, _ached_ , for the promise of more she could see smouldering in Nicole’s eyes. The heat fanning the flames, building them to an inferno that raged out of control within her.

Her eyes dropped, flicking to the plump curve of Nicole’s lips. So temptingly close but just out of reach. The tip of her soft pink tongue darted into view, wetting the seam of her lips and Waverly released a thick whimpered moan at the thought of flowing the path of the agile muscle… of tasting her, aching to know what it would be like to have it sweep across her own lips and beyond.

 _Kiss me!_ She wanted to shout it. _Please, just kiss me!_ Beg for it.

But the shutters came down over Nicole’s eyes. An almost hurt expression crossed her face before it was hidden behind a small smile and Waverly was left feeling bereft as Nicole stepped back and picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from her face.

Nicole screwed her eyes tight shut as she wiped the towel across her face. After Waverly’s whimper she half expected her to have bolted again but when she finally dared to look over the edge of the towel she found her still standing there, her eyes downcast as though she couldn’t stand to look at her.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you for a dance like that without asking.”

“No!” Waverly reached out as Nicole started to turn away, her fingers sliding against the light sheen of sweat over her strong forearms before resting against the pulse at her wrist. “I- I enjoyed it,” she smiled, her heart leaping at the hopeful and delightfully dimpled smile that crossed Nicole’s face.

“Yeah?”

“Yes. You- You’re an amazing dancer.” Probably amazing at everything but Waverly was at a loss as to how to take the steps to let Nicole know she wanted to experience everything with her.

“Helps when you’ve got a willing… partner. Dance partner.” Nicole swallowed nervously as Waverly’s hands slid up and down her arms. “I- I didn’t think I would see you again.”

“Seems Shorty’s beer was popular. Had another delivery to make to top it up.”

“Oh.”

“I’m glad we did,” tilting her head up, Waverly anchored herself on the brown of Nicole’s eyes. “I need to apologise for leaving how I did before.”

“You don’t need to apologise for anything. If anyone should it’s me for making you uncomfortable like that because I read the situation wrong.”

Waverly twined her fingers with Nicole’s as she tried to put unwanted distance between them again. “You didn’t though. Make me uncomfortable or read the situation wrong,” she clarified at the adorable confused look that crossed Nicole’s face. “I like you, Nicole. I really _like_ you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” Waverly smiled, her heart kicking up a notch in response to the swagger that was back in the half step Nicole took closer to her. “I’ve never done this before though. Been with a woman.”

“Oh.” Nicole’s heart sank at the realisation that Waverly was more than likely just curious about what being with a woman was like.

Waverly frowned as the shuttered look returned. “I’m not sure what’s going on in your mind right now Nicole but I don’t think what I said was what you thought it was. I hope not anyway.”

Nicole captured Waverly’s hands as they fluttered in frustration. “Hey, it’s okay.” Gently guiding her, Nicole encouraged Waverly to take a seat beside her on a bench. Waverly, fingers linked with hers again and she watched as they played with hers in a gentle stroke of flesh as Waverly seemed to order her thoughts.

“Have you ever met someone and instantly known in your heart that they meant something to you?”

Nicole’s breathing hitched, her eyes darting to Waverly’s as the younger woman seemed to tap into her thoughts and feelings. “I might kind of get that, yeah,” she breathed quietly, hopefully.

“I always wanted that with someone. For the longest time, I thought I had it with my boyfriend, Champ. I know now that I just settled with him until I couldn’t any more. I couldn’t ignore his constant cheating and manipulation.”

No one should have to settle for something like that,” Nicole growled.

“Yeah… Limited dating options in Purgatory though. He was the popular jock and junior rodeo star in school and I wasn’t the least bit popular…” The many reasons behind that were something she really didn’t want to go into right then, “And like a fool, I fell for everyone telling me I was lucky to have him pay me any attention at all even when he was seen kissing other girls under the bleachers during practice.”

Reading the quiet anger building in Nicole, Waverly gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “That’s all over now though. I ditched him and never looked back… until last night.”

“Last night? I don’t understand.”

“What that jackass at the bar said… It got to me. I know what you do… who you sleep with is your business but…”

“Waves. Listen to me. I don’t—”

“I saw the pictures, Nicole!”

“Pictures? You googled me?” Nicole stated in dawning realisation.

“Yes?”

“You shouldn’t believe everything you see on the net, Waves,” Nicole sighed.

“That’s what Wynonna told me too. Look, I’m not judging you.”

“You kind of are.” Nicole pointed out as kindly as she could.

Dropping Waverly’s hands, Nicole moved away from her, putting just enough space between them to stop herself from reaching for her. “I can’t stop what people post, Waverly and if that bothers you—“

“I won’t look any more!”

“Really? So when I have to leave in a couple of days you wouldn’t be tempted to look for pictures to see what I was doing? Who I was doing?” Nicole raked her hands through her hair at Waverly’s telling wince. “What is it you want from me, Waverly?”

“I don’t want to let you go, Nicole.” Scooting along the bench, Waverly claimed back Nicole’s hand. “You feel really, really important to me. Maybe…”

“What?”

“Maybe, we could just be friends?”

Nicole’s heart and hopes crashed and burned painfully straight into the friend zone pit, her head screaming, ‘Pull up! Pull away!’ But… she felt it too just as she had since the moment her eyes had fallen upon Waverly Earp. The knowledge that the beauty before her meant something important in some way.

She’s hoped, maybe foolishly that had meant that she had finally met the woman she was supposed to be with. But… in the end, maybe all she could hope for was this.

Blinking away the tears, Nicole dropped Waverly’s hand once more under the pretence of wiping her face with her towel once more. Draping it around her neck, she clutched both ends of it until her knuckles were white as she climbed to her feet, her body feeling like it was carrying an extra fifty pounds of weight with the heaviness of her heart.

“Sure Waves, whatever you want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear to God!!!!!
> 
> That was not how that was supposed to go but my muses went "Ooo, look at the lovely angst!"


	6. Chapter 6

Waverly really, really tried hard not to gawp but the sight of Nicole’s nimble tongue curling and sweeping around and around the pile of ice cream in her waffle cone was… distracting… to say the least.

“Waves, you’re starting to dribble. I meant your ice cream,” Nicole giggled as Waverly, who was looking a little glassy-eyed, wiped at the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

Blushing furiously, Waverly quickly put her own tongue to work and lapped and slurped inelegantly in her haste to gather up all the rivulets of ice-cream drizzling down the sides of her cone and fingers.

Biting back the moan that was clawing its way up her throat at the far too erotic for her good sight, Nicole quickly turned away and pretended to be looking across the street. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Waverly glance her way, hazel eyes staring at her quizzically from beneath the sweep of her long lashes but Nicole refused to acknowledge her look for fear that Waverly would see how affected she was and run.

And, as difficult, as heartbreaking, as being just a friend to Waverly was at times, Nicole couldn’t have that happen. Friends was better than nothing… right?

Being friends with Waverly was pretty special though… even her fondness for museums was adorable. Especially the wealth of knowledge she had about so many subjects. Once she had discovered that, Nicole had ditched the bone-dry pre-recorded guide that had been sending her to an early grave through boredom and had and listened and watched as Waverly had guided her through the exhibits, her body brimming over with barely restrained enthusiasm that had earned her a following of other museum visitors just as eager to hear what she had to say.

Yeah, friends with Waverly was special… It was just that Nicole wanted more.

“You’ve got a little…” Reaching up, Waverly brushed her thumb across the corner of Nicole’s mouth, capturing the trace of ice cream that lingered there. Her eyes widened first with the realisation that she could have simply just told Nicole where it was, followed by the acknowledgment that she hadn’t wanted to because if she had she would have missed that chance to feel the softness of Nicole’s ice cream cooled lips against her flesh and seen the way her pupils dilated until her soft brown eyes were nearly black.

And Waverly would have also missed the downright sinfully erotic moan that escaped Nicole’s parted lips as she drew her thumb into her own mouth to suck off the combination of vanilla ice-cream and Nicole’s chapstick she swore she could taste lingering there.

Waverly ached to pull Nicole down by her pretty blue tank-top and claim Nicole’s lips and more for herself but she was quickly brought back to the fact they were in a very public place as someone too intent on looking at their phone to look where they were going pushed between them, forcing them to take a step back before the tips of her fingers could do more than brush across the fabric.

Huffing in frustration, Nicole quickly steadied Waverly and looked around for somewhere quieter. “Come on.”

Mesmerised by the smile on Nicole’s lips, Waverly slipped her hand into the warmth of Nicole’s offered one and almost tripped over her feet as the smile broke out into dimples as Nicole gently tugged her towards the entrance to the park a little past where they were standing.

As soon as they stepped through the ironwork gates the bustle and noise of the street dropped away as if by magic as they walked beneath a canopy of leafy trees that shaded the path and protected them from the heat of the sun as they finished off their ice creams.

Taking the lead, Waverly tugged on Nicole’s hand, leading her off the path and into the trees.

“Waves, we should stick to the path.”

“I know somewhere better.” Dropping Nicole’s hand she turned and looked at her and the crease of nervousness between her brows. “You trust me, right?”

“Yeah…I mean, you’re not secretly some serial killer about to lead me to your cursed lair in the woods so you can chop me into little pieces… right?”

“Silly, it was your idea to come here. But to be sure I guess you’ll just have to follow me and find out.”

A smile of pure joy spread across Nicole’s face as she watched Waverly dance ahead of her, the sun rendering the thin cotton of her summer dress almost transparent where it swirled around her thighs as she moved in and out of the trees. Nicole followed the siren call of her body and melodious laugh willingly until their fingers met and twined together easily once more as they reached the edge of the trees.

“So beautiful.”

“Yeah, it’s a nice view isn’t it?”

There was a view? Lifting her head, not realising until she did that she had been leaning perilously closer to Waverly’s mouth and not in a ‘just friends’ kind of way, Nicole saw that sure enough, there was a view. A very pretty one but not even the sparkle of the sun against the surface of the lake before them could compare to Waverly.

Following the guiding tug of Waverly’s hand once more, Nicole let her guide her over to a tree close to the lake so they could sit in the shade beneath it together.

The park was beautiful, so peaceful and secluded and Waverly took advantage of the comfortable silence to look at Nicole. Something that had rapidly become a favourite pastime for Waverly. The sunlight danced through the leaves above, creating a halo of fire out of the red strands and caught the flecks of colour and turned the brown to tones of warm honey.

Waverly leaned into Nicole’s side, playing with the elegant fingers still entwined with hers. Across the lake, they could see families playing along the gently sloping banks and people just enjoying the sunny day but there was no one near them. She felt sure though that there could be someone sitting right there with them, even Wynonna, and she would have still felt the peace that came from being in Nicole’s presence.

There was just something so steadying about her. For all the energy within her that sometimes burst out in the most unexpectedly goofy ways… which it most definitely had when she had suddenly demonstrated how a dance pose in a painting was ‘just all wrong’ right in the middle of the exhibit… over the past week, more and more she had become the calm strength that could soothe her with just a look or touch.

“How did you know about this spot?”

“We found it when I was little… Wynonna and I. We used to come and hide out here when things got rough. It felt like it was our little secret but… looking back on it now, Aunt Gus always used to know where to be waiting for us when we were ready to come back out,” she chuckled.

“I hate the thought that you needed a bolt hole… but I’m glad you had one.”

“Between daddy’s fists and Willa’s tormenting, and then the town being mean to Wynonna after they died I think we came close to just moving out here and living wild more than once. I’m glad it was something good that brought me here this time. You, silly,” she clarified at Nicole’s adorable questioning head tilt.

Though, she knew the next time she made use of her secret place it would also be because of Nicole and it wouldn’t be for a good reason.

“What- what time do you leave tomorrow?”

The words, the sorrow behind them, had Nicole’s lungs burning with the effort to hold back the sting of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. “Waves. We said we weren’t going to talk about this today.”

“I know. I just- I just need to know, Nicole.”

“Soon as the show is over we leave,” Nicole sighed, scuffing at the dirt with the heel of her sneakers rather than let Waverly see her pain.

“Oh- I thought maybe that had changed with Shae staying another night.”

“Shae’s got one last interview the morning so her team will fly out later. Us, poor, lowly dancers get to spend the night and the day after on coaches.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem fair.” Especially as it meant they wouldn’t get to spend any time together after the show.

“It’s not so bad… Though our newest driver is a little on the weird side,” Nicole pursed her lips at the thought of Mercedes’ younger brother, Tucker. “At least Shea provides for our travel. I’ve been on a few gigs where we were expected to pay our way. Yeah, the experience is good for getting our profile out there to get more work, but I never want to go on another tour where just spending the night in some flea and roach infested motel or grabbing a crappy meal means I come home poorer.”

Waverly gritted her teeth, her nails biting into Nicole’s thigh at the thought of Nicole being taken advantage of like that.

“Hey,” Nicole smoothed her hand across Waverly’s and tried to convince her to relax her hold before the bruises set in… Damn, she was glad she had nice short trimmed nails and not talons! “Everything is okay now, Waves. I know better now.”

“I’m glad. I would hate to have to threaten Shae for not taking care of you.”

“Shae’s cool,” Nicole chuckled. With anyone else, she would have thought her words to just be an idle threat but there was a fire and determination within Waverly that was as every bit as strong as it was in Wynonna that said she would follow through. “She’s always taken care of me.”

Tilting her head, Waverly studied the fine lines of Nicole’s face. She tried not to get jealous at the softness she saw there when she talked about Shae but whatever they had was close… deeper than what Shae shared with any of the other dancers. She’d seen it while hanging out with Nicole the past week together and couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to their relationship.

“Nicole?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s the story with you and Shae? It’s obvious you two are… _close_.”

“I’ve lived with my grandma in Toronto since I was eleven. Shae and her family lived next door.” Nicole wished she could leave it there rather than spoil their day but she could see Waverly’s mind ticking over with questions.

“Why did you live with your grandma? Oh god!” she slapped a hand over her mouth. “Your parents… I didn’t realise they were…!”

“Naw, its okay Waves,” Nicole gently eased her hand away from her mouth. “My parents aren’t really a discussion for such a beautiful day.”

“Nicole, if it hurts to talk about them I understand but if you’re not telling me to spare me from something… don’t. I want to know everything about you. It’s- it’s what friends are for… right?”

The ‘friends’ tipped Nicole over the edge for the wrong reasons. Nicole didn’t like to share her past but if Waverly felt the need to share her baggage in the name of friendship… so be it. Nicole had plenty to go around.

“Okay… Haught history time. I was actually born in Toronto but my parents had a falling out with my grandma, knowing them it was over money. They always wanted more and she thought they should earn it honestly. I was five so I never got to hear the details while I was being thrown in a car and then a plane for a new life in Chicago. I used to spend a lot of time with the daughter of my neighbour there, she was a little older than me but we were close enough that we got along and being home wasn’t fun as I didn’t really like to be around all the ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ that paraded through.”

“They—”

“Yeah, when they weren’t screwing people out of money they were screwing everything else behind each other's backs.”

Their actions towards their marriage had affected her greatly. As had the groupies that used and were used by the dancers and crew. Love was love and she would always respect that. But on a personal level, it had made her protect her heart and ache for more even as it jaded her towards the thought of there being a ‘happily ever after’.

Nicole looked down, watching the back and forth motion of Waverly’s thumb brushing across her knuckles. The motion soothed her and she sighed, relaxing back against the rough bark of the tree.

“I kind of worked out pretty early on that I liked girls. And, well, when I was eleven I was caught with my friend. We weren’t doing anything,” she blushed. “We were just in her room talking about how we felt and that was enough for her parents to blow a gasket and threaten my parents, claiming I was corrupting their daughter and was as bad as them. I’m not sure what bothered them more, that I was gay or that they might lose investors for whatever scheme they were in at the time. Their solution to it all though was it kick me out of the house.”

“What the actual fuck? You were eleven and they kicked you out!?”

Nicole pressed a hand to Waverly’s shoulder before the tiny spitfire could surge to her feet to try and vanquish the ghosts of her past.

“Yeah, they were shitty parents. The only good thing they did for me though was apparently phoning my grandma. She never said why they did but she flew in that night and scoured the area looking for me and took me home with her. She set her very expensive lawyers on my parents and got them to sign me over to them and became my legal guardian so they couldn’t touch me anymore.”

“She sounds like a remarkable lady.” Waverly could hear the love and affection in Nicole’s voice.

“She was,” Nicole smiled fondly. “She died a couple of years ago but she taught me everything and encouraged me to go out and get what I wanted.”

“Dancing?”

“Yep. I’d been doing ballet since I was old enough to stand up and put on a tutu but gran let me take more lessons than just that and she turned up at every recital and then at every dive bar concert I went to with Shae. Bit pretentious having a dancer so officially I was there as a backup singer but I’m pretty sure they had to cut my mic off so I didn’t scare anyone away.”

“I’m sure you were adorable.”

“Yeah, not too sure about that. Shae and her band were terribly emo and goth back then. All black hair, black fingernails, chains and pale makeup. I could pull off the pale complexion easily but… let’s just say I should never have let Shae try to dye my hair black.”

“Oh boy! What happened?”

“It went green. Not even a pretty green. I had some crazy assed spiked do at the time and I just looked like a troll doll and a neon sign had a baby on my head.”

“Oh. My. God. Nicole… please tell me there are pictures somewhere!” Waverly grinned in anticipation.

“Lord! I hope not! But… knowing Shae… for sure. We’ve got so much blackmail-worthy photos of each other. Though, Shae had help getting hers when she took a _liking_ to our first groupie, Rosita.”

With Waverly pressed against her side, her fingers playing idly with her own, Nicole found herself more relaxed than she had ever been around anyone. And given that her heart was soaring with the closeness and every touch, and then breaking just a little more each time she tried to steel herself from putting more into it… It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth and left wounds scored into her heart.

“Are you looking forward to heading out to the next show?” Waverly instantly wanted to take the question back because of the pain it caused just to think about it.

Nicole sighed at the quiet, hesitant, question. “I love to dance, Waves. My whole life it’s been the one constant, the thing I can rely upon and lose myself in.” The thought of that now though, of getting on the coach after the last show and leaving Waverly behind closed Nicole’s throat off so tightly she couldn’t give voice to the anguish that brought.

“I- I don’t want you to forget about me. You- your friendship means so much to me.”

“Hey, Waverly Earp, you are extraordinary and I am never going to forget you.” Cupping Waverly’s face, Nicole pressed a kiss to her temple before resting her cheek against the top of her head so Waverly couldn’t see her pain. Breathing in the soft scent of Waverly’s shampoo, she closed her eyes to fight back the tears.

This, whatever it was, that she had with Waverly was both precious and confusing to Nicole. There were moments when she swore that Waverly wanted more but then she threw around the ‘friend’ word and Nicole was left just thinking that Waverly was just a really, really tactile person and that all the touches she bestowed upon her meant nothing… or maybe the word was her way of saying she was still just questioning her sexuality and wasn’t willing to take anything further… or maybe she just did see her as a friend.

And maybe if she wasn’t such a damn coward afraid of what the answer might be, she could just ask!

But, she was a coward.

One that had, before she had protected herself more, had fallen for the advances of a woman or two and found out that their kisses had just been to attract the attention of a man.

One that had almost confused the ridiculous boob fluffing from a straight friend to be something more. Who the hell did that anyway? Did dudes go around dick fluffing for their friends?

Waverly melted further into the comfort of Nicole’s embrace. Her touch was warm but light, not at all smothering how it would have been with Champ. And, as always, it set off sparks that radiated through Waverly, making her hyperaware of her own body as well as Nicole’s… How they felt together. How they fitted together.

“What time do you need to be back at the arena?” Waverly looked at Nicole expectantly. She couldn’t tell what was going through Nicole’s mind but she was suddenly struck by the thought and a little devil that looked like Wynonna sitting on her shoulder whispering in her ear, that Nicole would soon be walking away and she would never get to know what it was like to have more with her.

“Hmm, we’ve got just about three more hours before we have to be there… You are still coming tonight, right?” Nicole queried cautiously.

“Absolutely!” The flash of Nicole’s bright dimpled smile and her relieved laugh made Waverly feel like she had won the lottery… And maybe, she thought, she had.

“I’m glad. So, want to show me around somewhere else before we have to go?” Climbing to her feet, Nicole held out her hands. “I am in your capable hands, Waverly Earp.”

 _Oh, if only!_ Waverly blushed at the thought as she took Nicole’s offered hands and let the redhead pull her to her feet. The move was gentle as easy, not at all jarring, but Waverly blamed the resurgence of those dimples for throwing her off balance and resulting in her being pressed delightfully against Nicole’s front.

“How about we go back to your hotel… we could watch a movie?” _or do something much more pleasurable._

Just her and Waverly in a hotel room… Sitting on a bed… Cuddling up together while they Netflix’d and she lost her ability to chill? Yep… no problem! Nicole swallowed nervously and found herself nodding in agreement.

She was for sure going to lose her mind and probably dance straight off the edge of the stage later because of it, but it was worth it just to see the brilliant and infectious smile that lit up Waverly’s face.

The drive to the hotel she was booked in at the arena went quickly. Nicole wasn’t sure if that was more because she couldn’t take her eyes off of Waverly or just because Waverly was an utter speed demon behind the wheel.

She was glad she’d thought to text Mercedes before she’d gotten into Waverly’s jeep though. Her room buddy had said she was going to be out all day catching up with an old friend anyway but Nicole had let her know she was heading back simply so she wouldn’t have to share their limited time together sharing Waverly with anyone else.

As she opened the door to their room though. Nicole realised that Mercedes had obviously not checked her messages in a while.

Fortunately… Waverly was behind her as they entered as she was able to turn her around and get them both out of the room before Waverly could see what was taking place on one of the two king-sized beds in the room.

Unfortunately… Because she was steering Waverly out, Nicole wasn’t able to cover her own eyes or ears and there was just no amount of bleach in the world that would erase the sight or scrub her memory or the sight of Mercedes, Wynonna and John Henry in a writhing mass of nakedness.

“So… I- I didn’t know your sister and Mercedes knew each other?”

“Yeah, they… Oh! Ohhhhh!” Waverly’s eyes widened in realisation and grew even wider as a lusty, masculine moan seemed to float out from around the edges of the closed door. “Oh… Who?”

“Doc…” Nicole just about managed to get the name out as another moan assaulted her ears. “I think we should find somewhere else to go.”

“There’s an observatory not too far from here?” Waverly offered as she pulled a too pale looking Nicole away from the door. “They have a show every hour.”

“Erm… maybe not… I just saw three full moons… not sure how many more I can take, Waves.”

Laughing at Nicole’s discomfort, Waverly rose up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Tucking her arm into the crook of Nicole’s elbow she led her away and typed a message to her sister at the same time.

‘Thanks a lot, sis! I think y’all just broke Nicole!’

Snapping a quick photo of Nicole’s still shocked expression, she sent it and one last message.

‘Next time put a do not disturb sign on the door before you get your freak on!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugg, it is so much easier and less painful to write stories where there is no misunderstanding... lord knows i've got enough to deal with in my own relationship (even after 15 years together) to last a lifetime.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a bittersweet feeling watching from the wings of the massive stage that night… their last night. To a man, everyone around her no matter how big or small their job seemed always put everything into getting each show off the ground as fluidly as they could, leaving blood, sweat and tears on every piece of equipment.

That night though. The last one before moving on away from their week at the Big City Arena, there was a buzz of electricity in the air that showed in everyone as they poured their hearts and souls into every move and every note.

Even though Nicole was on stage for almost every number, she managed to keep in contact with lingering glances, and even the occasional touch whenever she was on the same side of the stage waiting to go back on.

Being in the crowd made the show look like magic. Backstage revealed the magic of hard work… the furiously paddling feet beneath the surface that kept the show moving smoothly. Makeup artists and wardrobe chased after Shae and the dancers who were trying to catch a breath and practising bits of complex routines before going back on.

It was chaos… and in just the small amount of time she had been amongst it before deciding she wanted to watch from the wings, Waverly had seen more naked asses than she’d ever thought possible.

Apparently, there was no room for modesty in that kind of environment. Which made how flustered Nicole had been the day before even more adorable. Granted, everyone backstage was too busy to pay anyone’s nakedness any attention compared to walking in on _that_ unexpectedly… but it was still adorable!

As she had expected, Wynonna hadn’t been the least bit repentant about what had happened other than to say that they hadn’t exactly planned it but she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time as she liked them both.

Not wanting to dwell on the complexities of her sister’s love life, especially as it had put a dampener on her hastily devised plans… Waverly watched the end of the song as it played out. Her eyes instinctively picking out Nicole from all the others as they left the stage for a costume change while the band continued to play and drew the song out to give them time.

The show was stunning… beautifully perfect… and so very painful. Knowing that with every song that ended it was one step closer to when she would have to say goodbye to Nicole.

A pause out of place from what she had gotten used to over a week of performances at the end of the instrumental break had Waverly dragging herself out of her melancholy thoughts and looking back out across the stage as the lights went out, plunging the stage into darkness, before returning to a single spotlight upon Shae.

The buzz of excitement rippling from everyone around her had the hair standing up on Waverly’s body as Shae address the crowd and announced that she was releasing a new song she had been working on and they were going to be the first to hear it.

The music swelled, highlighting the beauty of Shae’s voice as she released the full range and power of it in a song that was catchy, powerful and had the audience swaying along within seconds.

Waverly never saw where they came from when they joined her back on the stage, but as the lights came back on in a series of spotlight reveals, she saw Nicole and the other dancers, all resplendent in white, arranged in pairs around the stage with Nicole and… she did a double take when she realised that it was Dolls and not Charlie that was her partner as they stood either side of Shae so they could dance together and with their star between them.

Neither woman was heavy by any stretch of the imagination but they were both tall and Dolls’ strength made the lifts he did with both of them seem effortless and gave them a sense of security that Waverly felt sure they would have struggled to get from Charlie’s slighter frame, especially as he lifted Shae up onto his broad shoulder and walked around with her while she continued to wow the crowd with her voice as fireworks exploded in a shower of sparkles behind them.

The smile on Dolls’ handsome face as he lowered Shae and slipped backstage while the show continued with another high energy number was joy itself and a million miles removed from his usual stern expression.

Taking a bottle of water from Rosita he twisted off the cap and took a grateful swallow. “Damn! That felt good! How did it look?”

“Perfect!” Rosita gave the big man a hug. “What did you think, Waverly?”

“It was stunning.” Getting the feeling she was missing something Waverly looked at them quizzically. “What just happened?”

“Thanks to this utter genius here,” Rosita gave Dolls’ shoulder a solid slap that, with his muscles, had her shaking her hand in an effort the get the feeling back in her fingers, “you just got to see the making of a music video that will be going live along with the song before the show ends.”

“It was amazing!”

“I’m just glad it went so smoothly,” Dolls beamed in pride. “Not sure what we would have done if it hadn’t but luckily everyone was on top form.”

“Yes, she was,” Waverly sighed wistfully. “I mean- I mean they were… you all were! Yeah.”

Sharing a look with Rosita, Dolls smirked as Waverly went back to the show… or really, just watching Nicole in action.

“Well, I think I am going to get out of this… all white is just not my thing. Hopefully, I’ll get to see you later before we head out?” The slight drop in her shoulders didn’t go unnoticed but she rallied, or tried to, and gave him a beaming smile that didn’t quite brighten her eyes.

“I’d like that.”

“You enjoy the rest of the show.”

It barely even registered with Waverly as first Dolls and then Rosita left to go do whatever it was they had mumbled about needing to do. No doubt it was important but really she just wanted to be alone to watch Nicole and the way her body stretched and moved in elegant lines.

Waverly didn’t know how she was going to cope once Nicole had left but even if she had the power to demand that she stayed she knew she wouldn’t… Nicole’s grandmother had taught her to follow her dreams and Waverly never wanted to be the one to stand in the way of that.

With how she felt… Maybe it was for the best that she had suggested they just be friends? Missing a friend was hard enough… missing her as a lover… as a girlfriend, that would have been more than she could take.

Waverly quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes as the second encore came to an end and Nicole made her way towards her. She expected her to sail past along with the others but, just as she had the shows before, Nicole swept her up into her arms with a huge smile on her face. Her exuberance hoisted her so high off the ground that Waverly simply wrapped her legs around Nicole’s trim waist and held on as she was spun around.

The heat of Nicole’s body through the lightweight material of the stage costume was scalding, boiling her blood to a thick syrup that throbbed through her veins and pooled to where her core was pressed against Nicole’s abs.

Nicole’s eyes grew dark and lidded, her breathing slowing as her movements stopped. The arms wrapped around her, supporting her, tightened, pressing Waverly closer until she had to bite back a whimper as she felt each of Nicole’s breaths rocking her sensually against her.

Nicole ached to just keep walking with Waverly wrapped around her… To find some secluded corner somewhere so she could claim the lush curve of Waverly’s mouth.

But…

Waverly wasn’t hers to claim or assume anything and even if they were more, backstage with everyone bustling around was certainly not the place to be doing anything.

“Look alive, people! Everyone booking out tonight needs to be changed and coached up in thirty! Get a move on!”

Nicole reluctantly loosened her hold upon Waverly and let her slide back down until her feet were on the floor again. They stayed pressed together though, neither of them taking a step back.

“I- I’d better get changed before they make me spend the whole trip in this sweaty thing,” Nicole grimaced at the thought.

“Hmm, or maybe they would leave you behind,” Waverly only half teased back. Really, right then, she was wondering if she couldn’t lock Nicole up somewhere until they’d gone.

“I wish.” Smiling sadly, Nicole pressed a quick kiss to Waverly’s forehead and stepped back a little. “I won’t be long… You’re sticking around… right?”

“Go, I’ll be waiting.”

Waverly kept a close eye on Nicole’s every step as she made her way towards the main wardrobe area at a jog. Which turned out to not be a smart move as she ended up nearly choking on the breath she sucked in as Nicole decided to strip on the way and she got a damn fine view of Nicole’s pale, toned back. Her muscles, highlighted by the glimmer of sweat flexed and worked as she stripped off her top to hand over. “Fuck me,” she mumbled to herself breathlessly.

Nicole quickly towelled herself down and yanked on a fresh set of clothing. If she had to leave soon she was determined to spend every moment she could with Waverly before she was forced to get on the coach.

“I’ll see you guys out there!” The words were tossed over her shoulder without a care as to who, if anyone, heard them. All she could think about was the beauty she could see waiting for her right where she had left her.

She didn’t stay there for long though as she rushed to meet her halfway with a stride every bit as determined as her own.

“Come on, let’s get out of here before we get mowed down by one of these idiots,” Nicole grumbled as she deftly moved them both out of the way as a set of huge black cases taller than the person moving them rolled their way.

“And I thought it was chaos back here during the show,” Waverly chuckled.

“We’re organised chaos… this, when they start breaking the sets down, this is just chaos.”

Tightening her hand around Waverly’s, Nicole led the younger woman quickly out of the arena to where the coaches waited. It was the last place she wanted to be with the hulking reminders or their departure idling away… but it was actually quieter there despite the buzz of noise from the departing crowds, and it was certainly a whole hell of a lot safer.

If not for the crowds hoping to get one last glimpse of Shae, Nicole would have kept walking until they could find a quiet spot outside. But while sharing her with anyone she knew was bad enough… they were people she knew and would mostly respect their privacy. Outside the confines of the sheltered parking area, there would be cameras flashing, prying into everything and Nicole didn’t want to expose her to that side of her life right then.

Waverly didn’t even bother to look around to see where Nicole had found for them. As soon as she drew to a halt, Waverly turned and buried herself against her, her hands clutching desperately at the soft fabric of her top, her nose nudging against the still damp skin at the base of her throat. With her eyes screwed shut she breathed in the scent and feel of her, filling herself with everything that was Nicole Haught.

She wanted so desperately to tell Nicole how much she was going to miss her… how much she meant to her… How much more she wanted her to mean. But her throat closed off tight every time she tried to find her voice and she was left gaping like a fish and making strangled noises that sounded, and were, too close to being sobs.

Nicole’s arms tightened around her as she whispered and murmured sweetly in her ear, easing her into even closer contact until Waverly started to feel enveloped and secure. Following the gentle movements of Nicole’s body, she relaxed into the gentle swaying of their bodies and the lulling beat of Nicole’s heart underneath her ear.

They stayed like that as long as they could. Neither of them willing to speak or let go until there was no other choice.

“Come on, Haught! Let that woman breathe! It’s time to move!”

“Damn it!” Sighing reluctantly, Nicole threw a middle finger salute in the general direction of the coaches and stepped back slightly, her hands returning to Waverly’s.

Waverly leaned into Nicole’s side, their bodies brushing lightly together, as they slowly made their way over to the waiting coaches. She let go only long enough to hug Dolls and John Henry before returning to Nicole’s embrace while they waited as long as they could as they others got settled.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too, Waves. But, ya know, every chance I get I’m going to be in touch…” Even though she was pretty damn sure it would rip her heart out, Nicole knew it would hurt more not to. “And as soon as I get the chance I’ll swing back this way and maybe we can sit by the lake again?”

“I’d like that.” Throwing her arms back around Nicole’s waist and held on tight, searching for the strength and ability to speak her desires for more.

“You’re holding us up, Red!”

“I’ll stay in touch,” Nicole promised. She opened her mouth, determined to say more even though she wasn’t sure what… ‘I want to be more than friends’, ‘wait for me’, ‘I know we’ve just met and this is crazy but I love you’? But an obnoxious blast from the coach horn killed the moment and she snapped her jaw too and settled for shooting Tucker a glower as she stepped up into the coach.

Waverly stood there, her arms wrapped desperately around her waist, pain lancing through her as the coach drove out into the right and screaming crowds that had stuck it out.

It wasn’t until she saw the coaches making it out onto the main road and picking up speed that she moved and then it was to fish her phone out of her pocket as it buzzed and vibrated against her hip.

Blinking away the tears, she smiled as she saw that it was a notification of a new post from Nicole’s Instagram. Opening it up, she ran the tips of her fingers across the photo on the screen… A selfie that had obviously been taken moments before through the coach window with the brightly lit arena in the background.

‘Saying goodbye to friends old and new.’

Almost instantly the likes and comments started to flood in… which Waverly made a conscious decision not to read as she’d already seen from looking at other posts how raunchy they could get.

Nicole _never_ responded to comments on Instagram though, Waverly had seen that for herself so she really wasn’t expecting anything as she left her own comment of just a simple heart emoji. Seconds later though, there was a heart awaiting her.

Waverly had never thought it was possible to be heartbroken and elated at the same time but she somehow held on to the good until she finally made it home and collapsed into Wynonna’s waiting arms.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're so squishy and in love!
> 
> But so bloody useless at realizing they both want the same things from each other!!!!!
> 
> Now I remember why I hate writing emotional angst... physical, life in peril, angst is hard enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Waverly quickly looked around the bar, checking that everything was quiet and no one looked like they were going to need anything before she could make good her escape.

Luckily, even with the amazing beer Shorty made, mid-morning on a weekday was too soon for all but the most hardened alcoholic in Purgatory. And as Wynonna was still sleeping off the night before, there was only a handful of people in the saloon and they were contentedly sipping coffee and nibbling on muffins.

“Shorty?”

“Go, take your break.” Shorty smiled at the way Waverly smiled oh so sweetly and brightly, her body looking like it was ready to burst with joy as she clutched her phone to her chest with a fierce double-handed grip. “Say hi to Nicole for me?”

“I will!”

He chuckled as the young woman turned so fast she nearly knocked Carl off his stool with the violent swirl of her hair as she bounced from behind the bar and rushed for the stairs that led to the upstairs apartment.

Life had changed in Purgatory since Shae had brought her concert to their area.

The bar was doing better than ever which was great. As was the increase in people wanting his brews for special events and the people that ran the Big City Arena wanting him to be one of their official suppliers for every event held there.

He also found himself having to deal with calls from bigger breweries wanting to either hire him to be their Brew Master or buy his recipes from under him and sell them using his image… that was the least fun part about it all but everyone had encouraged him to do what he wanted and ignore the pressure.

In a broader stroke that affected more around Purgatory and the Big City, various properties had also brought around the area. At first it seemed at random but a couple of conversations had pulled the puzzle pieces together until they had found Mercedes at the centre of the picture using various companies as a loose disguise to hide the fact that she was buying on behalf of Shae who was funding a project to bring in affordable housing and businesses to area she felt deserved it.

The biggest change from it all, Shorty was convinced, had come to Waverly Earp.

From that first visit to the arena where she had met Nicole, she had spent every day on a rollercoaster of emotions. She was either walking on air or huddled in a pit of despair and it hadn’t taken any great detective work to find out that the despair only came when a day went by when the couple couldn’t communicate in one way or another.

And yeah, despite Waverly’s insistence that they were ‘just friends’, words that brought about a litany of violent growling, cursing, snorting and eye rolling from Wynonna, everyone knew they were a couple even if they didn’t.

Friends did not mope for hours at a missed call. Friends did not brighten like they had swallowed the sun at a mere text. Friends did not Skype all night just so they could wake with each other.

That last one Shorty knew all about because Wynonna had been grumbling about it the night before while deep into her whiskey shots as it was nearly a nightly thing with them and Wynonna hated that she had to remember to cover her ass and tits while walking around her own home.

Which was more than Shorty had wanted to know and almost made him reach for a whiskey right there and then even though it was only ten in the morning.

Waverly’s heart sang with anticipation as she closed the door of the apartment behind her.

She had worried for just about a month straight that every Skype call, every message, every hint of communication would be the last between them. That Nicole would simply grow tired of the small town girl she had shared a dance and some ice cream with. But every day, Nicole had proved her fears to be baseless as she had been there time and again with the biggest smile on her face and joy in her eyes no matter what time of the day it was for her.

There was still that barrier of the friendship label between them but Nicole had proved to be more attentive and in tune with her with thousands of miles and whole continents between them than Champ had ever been.

She had listened intently and encouraged her when Waverly had told her of her desire to take some language and history courses online in her spare time. Not once had she questioned her or called her foolish in her desire to maybe work at a museum one day. And when Waverly had started her first course and had struggled to focus, Nicole had set up a Skype call and had just been there, reading a book while she studied and asking questions when she faltered. Her calming presence steadying her whenever it had felt like too much for her.

It had all led to Waverly knowing without a shadow of a doubt that she wanted to know that remarkable woman as more than friends. And hopefully… no, she would, tell her when Nicole visited her.

Five days! That’s how much time she had to wait. Just five more days and a matter of hours before there was a couple of weeks break in the tour and she would be able to fly in… as long as nothing else came up.

No! She mustn’t think like that!

When she had voiced the fear to Nicole she had calmed her with the softest of tones and most earnest of looks and said that nothing would stop them from being together one way or another and the growing determination in her brown eyes with every word had made Waverly a believer.

The familiar, and now loved, sound of the Skype call coming through made her jump and had her flying to the bed to get comfortable. Kicking off her shoes she arranged herself against the pillows and pressed the screen to connect the call all at the same time.

“You’re early.”

“Well, if you want, I can call back in five minutes,” Nicole offered with a grin.

“Nicole Haught, don’t you dare!”

Waverly’s toes curled into the fabric of the bedcovers at Nicole’s light laugh.

“So, where are you?” She knew… her phone was loaded with all the details of the tour so she knew exactly where Nicole was… She just liked to hear Nicole talk about where she was.

“Actually,” Nicole frowned in concentration. “I’m not too sure today,” she admitted with a wry shrug. “Gotten to that stage of the tour where I can’t tell one hotel room, airport or arena from another. All I know is that in five days I’ll be home… I mean, I’ll be with you.”

Nicole blushed at her telling slip up. She hadn’t meant to say it but she couldn’t deny that Waverly was the person she thought about when she thought of home. She was where she wanted to return to and be with. And despite her love of dance and performing… Waverly was who she wanted to do… be with… more than anything.

“Home sounds good to me,” Waverly smiled at the hope that Nicole might equate her with home and that it wasn’t just tiredness tripping her up.

“Me too,” Nicole whispered back longingly. “Erm, so… how’s the studying going?”

“Ahhh. Nope,” Waverly wagged a finger at her. “I know you’ll be heading off to the arena soon… I want to hear how your day is going.”

“Mhhhh.”

“What happened?” Waverly questioned, her brow furrowing at the way Nicole’s mouth puckered like she had just sucked on a lemon.

“Just problems getting from the airport to the hotels. Turned out okay in the end,” she quickly assured Waverly as she saw her displeasure spreading across her face as realisation dawned.

“A problem as in, Tucker Gardner again?”

“Yeah,” Nicole sighed. “I know he’s Mercedes kid brother but that dude is creepy and getting worse every day. Even Mercedes tried to get rid of him but the transport company we use said they hadn’t got anyone that could replace him right now. John Henry and Dolls are taking it in turns to travel on the coach he’s driving and that seems to keep him in check… so there’s that.”

He was trouble but nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Could we talk about something else, Waves? I really, really don’t want to waste my time with you thinking about that creep. What plans have you got for me when I’m there?”

Plans? Oh boy, did she have plans! Not that she could say anything right then… Waverly wanted Nicole there so they could really talk without restraints or time limits… and no sister and whatever she had going on with Mercedes and Doc getting in the way.

Well now, that was interesting! Either the screen of her phone was playing up or Waverly was blushing more than the time she had accidentally flashed a good and wholesome amount of perfect boob when they had Skype slept together one of the first times.

“You, Waverly Earp, are blushing an awful lot there… anything you need to get off your boob? Chest! I meant chest!”

Waverly giggled as Nicole shuffled down on her hotel room bed with a moan and the video shook as she slapped her forehead with her phone. When the image stopped shaking and Nicole finally came back into focus, Waverly kept the tone light to spare Nicole’s blushes… and also to stop Nicole from questioning her own once more.

All too soon she heard Shorty calling up the stairs to remind her that her break was over and at the same time she heard the thud of someone pounding against Nicole’s hotel room door to get her moving.

“Looks like our time is up, for now, Wave. Think you’ll be up for a chat when I get back from the show?”

The soft, hopeful, bite of pearly white teeth trapping the lush curve of Nicole’s bottom lip made Waverly ache with the desire to be the one doing the biting… to hear her moan. “Yeah,” she somehow managed to breathe out. “I find it hard to sleep without you.”

“Me too.”

Another knock and Doc’s voice calling out gruffly had Waverly chuckling as Nicole rolled her eyes in exasperation. “You best go. I’ll message when I can, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Nicole.” Waverly held her breath, her eyes widening at the realisation of what she had said. Fear flashed through her but Nicole, as amazing as always, ducked her head, a blush flagging across her perfect cheekbones as she glanced up hopefully from beneath her lashes.

“I love you too, Waves.”

Waverly’s heart sang like a chorus of angels as she floated down the stairs to continue her shift. The look, the sincerity in Nicole’s voice as she had returned her words… they spoke of more than just friendship… They had to… Right?

She squashed the flare of self-doubt under her heel, refusing to let it drag her down for once in her life.

“You’re looking happy, baby girl.” Which was a gross understatement as Wynonna had been watching her sister flitting around the bar like a bouncy ray of sunshine spreading joy everywhere for the last couple of hours and she knew damn well that three hours had passed since Waverly’s ‘break’ with the hot redhead in her life.

Must have been a _hell_ of a good call. But with those two useless gays, it could just mean they had been swapping vegan recipes.

“I am!” Spinning with a practised move, Waverly scooped up a bottle of Wynonna’s favourite whiskey up from where it was carefully hidden out of Wynonna’s reach beneath the bar and filled up her sisters shot glass. “On me.”

“Ohhh, very happy. Any chance you’ll leave the—”

“Nope!”

Wynonna chuckled as Waverly popped the ‘p’ and sashayed away with a smirk to place the bottle unfortunately way, _way_ out of her reach.

“I guess that means you’re still looking forward to Haughtshot visiting?” A blush and wistful look was answer enough. “So when are you guys going to drop the ‘friends’ shit and just get down and do the nasty”

“That would be none of your beeswax, ‘Nonna.”

“Aww, sis! I tell you _everything_ about my love life!”

“Yeah… too much!” Snatching the shot glass right from Wynonna’s hand, Waverly downed the shot with barely a grimace as the fiery liquid blazed a trail down her throat and slapped the glass back down on the bar.

“Hey! Dick move, sis! That was mine!”

“You were being slow, figured you didn’t want it.”

Wynonna looked on with an aghast expression as her sister winked and flounced away… Then she calmly reached over the edge of the bar and snagged a bottle of tequila for herself despite Shorty’s glower in her direction.

Replaying the misdeeds of her misspent youth had become a game they played for fun… and to horrify the Purgatorian’s that still clutched at their peals in horror when they saw their small town’s wild child walking around in the leathers and air of bad attitude that she wore proudly like a uniform.

But hey, she was a bounty hunter, she had a reputation to uphold.

“You remember Tucker, right?”

“Is that little shit-stain causing trouble?”

“Yeah… Nicole won’t say how exactly but I remember how creepy he was at school.”

“Creepy?” Wynonna snorted in disgust. That was one way to describe him. “That douchebag only got away with anything because his parents had the money to make everyone look away and write his budding serial killer ways off as ‘high spirits’ and ‘boys being boys’.”

Wynonna knocked a healthy shot of tequila back to wash away the bad taste in her mouth.

“Last year of school I caught that little shit-stain hiding under the bleachers jacking off while peeping under the skirts of the cheerleaders. You weren’t with the squad that day, probably too busy in the library being a swot, if you had I would have killed him but I came close anyway. I got suspended and he got sent away for a couple of weeks so people wouldn’t question his bruises.”

“He’s why you left?”

“Waves… I was already fucked up by then. The girl that killed her own father and probably her sister. But yeah, Tucker was part of the reason. I saw how he was just going to get away with everything… and his parents branded me as crazy… which everyone was all too willing to believe.  I had to get away.”

“I wish you’d taken me with you.”

“I missed you every day but I could barely take care of myself. Dragging you along would have been the worst thing to do. You were safe with Gus and Curtis and that was the best place for you.”

“You can tell yourself that ‘Nonna… and, yeah, you might even be right but all I knew was that everyone leaves me behind. Mama, daddy, Willa… you. Everyone close leaves me.”

“Oh, baby girl!” Slipping over the bar, Wynonna enveloped Waverly in a hug. Since she’d got back she had seen the hurt within Waverly. She had maybe even guessed the depths of it, but this was the first time that Waverly had shown her how deep the pain ran. “Is this why you’ve been sitting on keeping Nicole as a friend?”

“I don’t want to be hurt again…”

“No one does, baby girl.”

“I think I’ll tell her not to come—”

Leaning back, Wynonna cupped her sister’s face between her hands. “Baby girl, I love you and will respect any decision you make but… so help me god! If you do that I swear I will lock you both up together until you pull your gay heads out of your asses and talk! ‘Kay?”

“But what if she—”

“That girl is beyond smitten with you and I’ve seen that doe-eyed look on your face when you think about her… Yep, that one right there,” she smiled as Waverly’s whole expression softened. “Take a risk, baby girl. Step out off that cliff you’re so afraid of and I’m pretty damn sure she will be right there to catch you. And if I’m wrong I’ll take her out into the salt plains and bury her up to her neck in it.”

Waverly wasn’t sure if she should be worried or touched by Wynonna’s offer to bury Nicole but… she decided to go with touched.it was nice to know that her sister had her back.

“Everything okay, girls?” Moving closer, Shorty shielded them from the eyes of the other patrons, shooting them a glare as he did so to get them to look somewhere else.

“Yeah, we’re good. Thank you, Shorty.”

“If you need to take another break…”

“I could take over serving for you.” The looks of horror on their faces was hilarious and she knew them well enough not to take offence.

“Wynonna, I would give you a bottle of whiskey to keep you over on the other side of that bar.”

“Deal!” Snatching up a full bottle of her favourite brand, Wynonna gave them a saucy wink, and slid back over the worn wood of the bar and retreated to a table over near the pool table ready to hustle anyone foolish enough to take her on before they could stop her.

Shaking his head fondly at Wynonna’s antics, Shorty gave Waverly’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze to check she was okay before retreating back to his usual end of the bar.

The day continued, her shift broken up by breaks to relax and run errands for herself and in preparation for Nicole’s visit. And, when no one was looking, and even if they were, she shot off messages to Nicole when she could. Waverly knew that the other woman would be busy, she’d seen into her life and just how much went into creating those couple of hours of magic each night. So she wasn’t expecting as many replies as messages she was sending, but each one she got, every private selfie and ones with her name tagged with their secret countdown message on Nicole’s Instagram… it all had Waverly’s heart soaring in anticipation.

Waverly kept a careful eye on the time as the night progressed even though the bar was busy as hell with everyone shaking off the stress of work and enjoying the company.

“Waves, I’m going to head down and grab a coffee and a burger… soak up some of the booze before we head home. Want me to bring you back anything?”

“Hmm, veggie burger and a soothing sunshine herbal tea.”

“Swear to god you only want that hippie haemorrhoid crap ‘cause you know I hate ordering it.” Narrowing her eyes, Wynonna sucked on her teeth but Waverly refused to blink. “Fine! One tea coming up!” Throwing up her hands in disgust, she turned away and marched towards the exit with a smile on her face.

Waverly glanced back down at her phone to see if there had been any reply to her last message… an ‘I really love you,’ typed with her heart threatening to pound out of her chest as her finger had hovered over the send. Three dots had come moments later but they were gone now and no message awaited.

Waverly couldn’t deny her disappointment but poor cell reception was an unfortunate fact of life no matter how good the providers claimed their coverage was. By the time her shift was over, Nicole would be back at the hotel and all would be well.

With a moan of pleasure, Wynonna sank her teeth deep into the greasy burger and tore off a chunk.

Since ‘Mama Olive’s’ had been taken over and become ‘Beau’s Diner’ the burgers had definitely improved… even with the questionable vegan choices, they kept adding to the menu.

Wynonna’s breath huffed out in a cloud of white mist that lingered in the chilly autumn air as her phone started buzzing. The growl at the burger-interruptus turned to a purr of pleasure and a huge smile when she saw that it was John Henry.

“Wynonna…”

“Hey, Doc!”

“Listen…”

“Are you guys still coming to visit with Haught? I’m missing sexy time—”

“Wynonna!”

Wynonna’s mouth snapped shut, her back stiffening as the desperation in his voice finally made it through her haze of booze and pleasure.

“What’s going on?”

“Something happened. Are you with Waverly?”

“What happened?”

“You need to go be with your sister, Wynonna. There was an accident…”

The blood froze in Wynonna’s veins as she heard the distant sound of sirens echoing through the phone. The takeout tray dropped from her hand, spilling food and drink over the sidewalk as she quickened her pace.

“What kind of accident?” She demanded.

“We’re not sure what happened exactly but… Wynonna, one of the coaches went off the road. They’re still working on the scene now… There are news helicopters circling like vultures, Wynonna. This is going to get out before we or anyone can control it and I fear what might make it out before we know anything for sure. You need to be with her before that happens!”

“I’m nearly there. What about Nicole? I take it she was on the coach or you wouldn’t be calling me about Waves.”

“We do not know. It is chaos here and they won’t let us close.”

“Wynonna!!!!”

If Wynonna thought that her blood had frozen before, it was nothing compared to the way the bottom dropped out of her world at Waverly’s anguished scream.

Racing the rest of the way, the phone clutched forgotten in her hand, Wynonna burst through the doors into Shorty’s and shouldered everyone aside in an effort to reach her baby sister and catch her before she fell to the floor.

Kneeling with her in her arms, Wynonna rocked her gently. She was vaguely aware of Shorty ushering everyone out of the bar to give them some privacy but her eyes were glued to the TV hanging above the bar. Usually, it just played quietly in the background except for when a game was on. But now the volume was on full blast with the images playing over and over of one of the tour coaches, every panel still visible, crumpled and torn, every window shattered as it sank out of sight into the depths of the river it had plunged into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me!!!! Everything will be okay!
> 
> Hopefully....


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN - I just wanted to say how much all the comments and kudos mean to me :) I'm afraid I haven't really had the time to comment back but I love and appreciate every one :)

Waverly’s eyes were fixed on the window of the private jet that Shae had hired to get them where they needed to be but her mind was ripped into a million places and directions at the same time. Fractured images that flashed by faster than the barren expanse of land in the pre-dawn light as the pilot pulled back on the controls and the plane reluctantly left the ground and took to the skies.

She was aware of Wynonna’s presence at her side, quiet, solid and familiar. The weight of her hand against hers where it lay against her thigh was reassuring… but Waverly felt so disconnected from there here and now.

So numb.

Numb was good though.

Numb meant not having to face the all too real possibility that Nicole was lost. Torn from her before she could tell her just how much she loved her. That her feeling went so far beyond friendship. That she was pretty damn sure that the dancer had claimed her heart and she would walk into hell and bargain with the Devil himself if it meant she could have her back and see that ridiculously gorgeous face and dimpled smile again and reclaim all the moments her fear of rejection and lost them.

Numb also, unfortunately, meant that her mind was free to wander.

Fuelled by a grief her mind was determined to claim, she latched onto things she really didn’t want to dwell upon but was helpless to stop herself from recalling. And in spectacular sadistic fashion, her mind locked in upon the footage that had aired about the crash and the video that had circulated from inside of the coach during the crash.

Damn them for finding it and thinking it was perfectly okay to air something like that when people had died!

With the same clarity that allowed her to glance out of the window of a moving vehicle and recall in detail everything she had seen, Waverly could see the contents of the video playing out in her mind over and over with far greater detail than the quality of the footage and sound should have allowed for.

Despite Charlie being shaken by the motion of the coach, she saw Nicole, her face still flushed and sweating slightly from the concert.

“Charlie? What are you doing?”

Her tone was light and questioning as Charlie had sat on the seat ahead of her and Dolls and pointed the camera between the gap in the seats, directing it right at their faces.

“Youtube Live for the fans. Thought they all might like to see what it’s like for us after a show…”

Waverly could see the confusion on Nicole’s face at them being singled out and knew she just didn’t get how much the fans had latched on to her when she just saw her role as a supporting one of just being there to help Shae tell her story.

Waverly had seen it though. As many comments are there were from people being weird and just wanting a way to Shae, there was a deeper core following that all the dancers had of people that wanted to be like them. People, kids, that saw them as role models… those were the ones that marvelled at the precise placement and line of their bodies and not just the way their outfits showcased their bodies.

“Charlie, ain’t no one that wants to see you snoring,” Nicole chuckled.

“I don’t snore! I don’t snore…” Charlie directed to the fans as he turned the camera on himself. “Cool! Some questions coming in… Haught. Who’s your favourite dancer to partner with?”

“A fan question, huh? Ya know, pretty sure you’re not supposed to ask for yourself, Charlie!”

“I’m… Ohhh, you guys see what I have to put up with!? Come on, who do you like to dance with.”

“On stage… sorry, not you, Charlie,” Nicole winked at the camera. “I would have to say… this guy here,” she nudged Xavier playfully. “The leader of the ‘Dollshouse’ himself, Xavier Dolls.”

“If he’s the leader wouldn’t that make him the puppeteer?” Charlie whispered cheekily.

“Very sweet of you Haught… You’re not getting a pay rise though.”

“Damn it!”

“Charlie… You can get a pay cut though,” Xavier grinned brilliantly.

“So mean!” Charlie mock pouted. “Let’s see what else we’ve got… Okay, follow up question. That was onstage… what about off stage? Who do you like to ‘dance’ with then, Haught?”

“There is someone amazing,” Nicole blushed. “But that is personal, so that’s all I’m saying.”

The first time that Robert Svane, the bastard producer in charge of the local branch of the ‘Bulshar Network News’ had aired the footage, much of that part had been left off… probably in fear that it would get yanked before the good stuff could be played. But once they had found out that Nicole and Dolls were the ones still missing after the crash they had added more, and Waverly had unwisely devoured it all over and over, until Wynonna had forced her to stop torturing herself.

She could see it still though, the blush on Nicole’s face and the way her eyes had dipped. The courtesy with which she and Dolls had answered questions from the fans and skilfully deflected ones they thought were too prying.

She saw the flash of concern in Nicole’s eyes as she had looked towards the front of the coach at something going on. And she saw the glimpse of pure joy on her face as she had looked at her phone and read her declaration of love. Waverly knew that was what she was looking at because of the time stamp on the screen.

Even with the camera now clipped to the back of a seat at the back of the coach, Waverly had seen Nicole bite her lip as she started answering her text… and then the moment she was distracted once more by something ahead.

This time though, Waverly had been able to see as Tucker had yanked Rosita towards him, making the coach lurch as his hand slipped on the wheel.

There was raised voices and the flash of a gun in his hand as he jabbed it into her ribs. God only knew what Tucker had had in mind but Rosita fought back, grabbing the hand holding the gun and forcing it away from her body.

There was a bang, startlingly loud in the confines of the vehicle. But not as loud as the startled screams from everyone trapped with an apparent madman.

More shots had rung out.

Most of the thankfully wildly off target as Dolls wrestled with Tucker over the weapon and control of the coach. But as Nicole pulled Rosita to safety one had grazed Rosita’s right temple and Nicole’s shoulder as she sought to shield her friend.

Another shot had sent Dolls crashing to his knees, his hands clutching at his thigh as he cried out sharply in pain.

And then one final shot had barked out as Tucker had turned the gun around, his sick laughter ringing out as he had placed the muzzle under his chin and pulled the trigger as he yanked the wheel hard.

The coach had lurched to the side, sending people flying across the width of the coach as it bounced across the median and slammed into and through the low wall on the edge of the bridge.

The coach teetered and rocked wildly, caught on the edge of settling or falling. The river below coming into view through the window as the headlights had bounced off the dark waters and a swirl of white where it rushed around the rocks below.

“Charlie!” Nicole grabbed her friend and pulled him to his feet as he came to a rest at her feet. “Take Rosita and get out through the back. Everyone! Get out through the back! Move it!!”

Through the scramble of bodies trying to make their way up the tiled coach, Waverly saw Nicole pulling Dolls to his feet, using her body jammed up under his arm to bear his weight for the climb.

But it was too late.

There was a creaking groan and a jolting lurch as something settled or shifted under the coach and gravity won out. Bodies flew, crashing into seats and each other as the coach plunged towards the river.

The camera had finally been knocked loose but before it had, Waverly saw all too clearly as Nicole was flung all around, her body slamming into the back of the driver’s seat and then the windscreen as the front of the coach smashed into the river with a thunderous crunch of metal.

From the footage at the crash site, that terrible, heart-wrenching footage of the coach, Waverly knew that from there it had toppled right over onto its roof and that was when people had died… crushed and trapped at the mercy of the river as the coach collapsed.

But by then it was too late.

By the time it came to a precarious rest perched with the rear end stuck on some rocks that had ripped it open, allowing frigid water to rush in even as it had kept it from sinking straight away, the windscreen had already cracked and splintered, shattering into million pieces as it allowed in a rush of water that had swept Nicole and Dolls out into the raging river.

Wynonna preferred to be in control while she was travelling anywhere. Two or four wheels under her, that was her jam, not up in the air with the ground thousands of miles below, her life at the whim of someone else’s mood… or the weakest engine part or bolt.

Just stepping aboard the small jet had filled her with dread despite the welcoming smile if the air steward. But she was there to support her sister and that had given her the strength even as she had wondered if one of the bigger jets wouldn’t have been more stable as that one had looked like a kid’s toy or a rowing boat next to a cruise liner compared to them.

Usually, Waverly would have distracted her from what Wynonna knew damn well was an irrational fear by quoting facts and figures at her but Waverly was in shock and needed her help.

Once they were in the air the privacy and luxury of the plane proved to be a blessing as she unfastened her seatbelt and made use of the fact that there were no seats crammed in front of them to kneel down while she cupped Waverly’s face and brushed away the tears falling down her cheeks.

“Hey, I’ve got you, baby girl. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“What- what if she's dead,” Waverly hiccupped brokenly. “I won’t get to tell her how I feel. Crap! Why am I so— This isn’t about me—“

“Waves, you’re allowed to have thoughts like that. Nicole is strong though… She survived seeing Doc’s pale ass, right? That girl can survive anything.” Unfastening Waverly’s seatbelt, Wynonna pulled her down onto the floor with her and held her tight, letting her sob against her shoulder just as long as she needed to while she murmured soothingly and repeated over and over that everything would be okay even though she was scared that it wouldn’t be.

They were an hour into the flight and still huddled on the floor when Wynonna heard the quiet tread of the air steward stopping next to them. The woman crouched down beside them, her voice a hushed whisper that Wynonna appreciated as Waverly had just fallen into an exhausted sleep.

“Wynonna?”

“That’s me.”

“There’s a call for you.”

Waverly kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep as Wynonna rose from beside her and moved towards the front of the plane, putting distance between them as she answered the phone the kind-faced air steward handed her. Waverly’s fingers tightened in the thin blanket, tightening it around her as she tried to read Wynonna just by the lines of her shoulders and back as she was turned away from her.

The call was soon over and Waverly couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. Neither could she tell what it meant as Wynonna clutched at the bulkhead and sagged, her shoulders rising and falling sharply. The sob she released on a ragged breath had fear clawing its way through Waverly’s soul and sent her scuttling backwards until her back was pressed against the fabric of the plane with tears falling faster than ever.

Footsteps rushed back towards her but Waverly looked away, burying her face in the blanket, refusing to see it in Wynonna’s eyes that she had lost the woman she loved.

“No, no, no…”

“Waves… Waves, look at me, baby girl!” Wynonna pulled Waverly’s hands away from her face. “Look at me,” she begged and demanded gently until hazel eyes full of pain and heartbreak reluctantly met hers. “Waves. She’s okay. They both are.  Waverly… listen to me,” she begged when she realised that Waverly was locked so deep in her sorrow that she wasn’t really hearing her words. “They found Nicole and Dolls,” she repeated slowly.

“They…?”

“Yeah, baby girl…. They’re alive.”

Wynonna laughed in relief with Waverly as they clung to each other, their tears ones of joy and relief.

The rest of the flight was a test of patience but finally, with only a small hop as the tyres kissed the runway, the plane glided to a halt and the doors were opened to reveal John Henry waiting by a blacked out town car.

He was a sight for sore eyes but even though it had only been hours since the crash, Wynonna could see that every minute of it had weighed heavily on him until he was hunched over under the weight of it, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans as though they were the only thing keeping him upright. There were dark circles under his usually brilliantly twinkling eyes that left them looking hollow and glazed over, and deep creases lay across his forehead and around his mouth, ageing him beyond his years.

Some of the weight seemed to lift from his shoulders as he saw them, his bushy moustache twitching with a small smile as he straightened long enough to pull them both into a tight embrace.

Drawing back, Waverly searched his face desperately. “Nicole?”

“She took a hell of a beating and I dare say that they will want to keep her under observation for a couple of days to make sure there are no complications from the blow to her head and her time in the river, but she will be fine once she has had time to recover. And I dare say that seeing you will do her the world of good.”

Doc gently pulled Waverly back into their shared embrace and felt Wynonna’s arms tighten around him, her lips forming into a ‘thank you’ against his ear as he offered what comfort he could. It really felt like thanks was something he should have been giving to them as for the first time since the accident, he actually felt peace.

Wynonna waited until Waverly was settled in the back of the car before joining Doc at the rear while he loaded up what little luggage they had thrown together. “How bad is it, really?”

Doc checked that Waverly seemed to be unaware of their conversation before settling his hip against the edge of the trunk. Taking a breath he rubbed a weary hand across his even more weary face. “It is most assuredly a shit storm, Wynonna, make no mistake about that. We lost family today and many were injured. It is, quite frankly, nothing short of a miracle that we did not lose more.”

“How’s Mercedes?”

“Blaming herself for the whole sorry mess. She believes she should have insisted that her brother should have been removed sooner.”

“Everyone will be trying to take more blame than they deserve to, Doc. Even you.”

“Mayhap I should have insisted too. Or been on the coach instead of my friends.”

“And maybe I should have done more than just beat his ass him when I caught him upskirting girls in school. Doc, I’ve seen sickos like Tucker before… whatever triggered him into action was always going to happen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing too, helps you to see all the things that could have been done but when it comes down to it the only one to blame is Tucker.”

“All of which I know is true but…”

“It doesn’t help the pain. I know. But it will. And more than any of us, Mercedes is going to need help in believing that truth or it will drive her crazy wondering if she should have done more… and I know her… I know you… there was nothing more with what you knew then.”

“Wynonna Earp, when did you get to be so smart?”

“Maybe it’s from bangin’ a hot redhead,” she winked. “We’ll have to see if it has the same effect on Waves… if they ever get to the bangin’.”

“Is there any chance we could get to the hospital instead of discussing my sex life?”

“Your lack of sex life you mean.”

Leaning out of the window, Waverly fixed them with a glower. “Doc… Hospital?”

Slamming the trunk shut, Doc ushered Wynonna into the back of the car with Waverly and quickly made his way around to slide behind the wheel. Through the mirror, he could see Waverly fidgeting nervously. Her fingers alternated between plucking at her clothes and smoothing them down when they weren’t running through her hair like she was one thought away from yanking it out in clumps.

“Waverly?” her eyes darted up, meeting his though the mirror. “Nicole will be fine,” he assured her. “She took a mighty beating so you might want to prepare yourself if you are planning on seeing her.”

“Of course I want to see her!” She snapped… calming and offering up a sheepish smile as Wynonna gave her knee an admonishing squeeze. “I’m sorry, Doc.”

“There is no need to apologize, Waverly.”

“Yes, there was, you were just preparing me. Doc… where did they find them?”

“From what I heard they were on the bank of the river a couple of miles away. I talked to Dolls before they put him under for surgery on his leg and he said that Nicole managed to somehow snag him after they were swept out of the coach and kept them afloat long enough to get them out when they drifted close enough to the shore. She hauled him out as far as she could and wrapped his leg before she passed out.”

Doc cleared his throat, chasing away the tightness there as he remembered Dolls anguished cries when he had first seen him at the hospital. The all-consuming fear born from waking to find Nicole missing from his side had taken him in its jaws and sank its teeth in deep. Even when it had dawned on him that he wasn’t still lying on the cold, muddy ground at the edge of the river that had nearly killed him, he has still been convinced that he had lost his friend and he had tried to dive off the thin hospital bed into the river he still saw before him to get to her.

Waverly brushed aside her tears, her fingers tightening around Wynonna’s as she gazed out of the window. The car passed over a bridge and she wondered if the small river that ran beneath it fed the larger one that had almost claimed their lives?

Waverly had, thanks to her big sister’s idea of a prank, fallen through the ice when on a lake when she was younger. She wasn’t sure what would have gotten her first if she hadn’t been seen and pulled out, the cold or the weight of her waterlogged clothing, but years later and she could still feel the cold deep in her bones at night. It had locked her muscles and jaw up so tight she hadn’t been able to move or call for help.

It had been terrifying but the water had been calm and it had been daylight.

To think of Nicole, injured how she was, cast in frigid water in the middle of the night, her injured friend in her arms, with rocks all around her waiting to rip and smash them apart…

Waverly could feel it all over again, the dragging weight pulling her down like hands of bone and ice digging into her flesh to hook on her bones.

It was an old fear or maybe a repressed memory. But this time she could see Nicole in her place and she couldn’t reach her!

“Waves! Focus, baby girl! Breathe with me… in and out… that’s better.”

Wynonna’s voice felt like it came from a distance, floating over the raging rapids that was her blood pounding in her ears. But once heard, Waverly grabbed it like a lifeline, feeling the tug of it easing her back to the shore and calming her breathing until she was finally able to focus enough to give her a smile and nod of thanks.

“Goddamn vultures!”

Leaning forward in the seat at Doc’s virulent growl, Wynonna looked out of the windscreen at the hospital, her lips curling up in distaste at the sight before her.

“Wynonna?”

“That’s a hell of a lot of press!” There were news vans crowed around the parking lot and the front of the hospital, too many for the meagre amount of police there to be able to contain successfully. The main press would probably be more respectful, it was the gutter, tabloid press like BNN that would be a problem.

“More than when I left to collect you. I will call ahead and get some of our security to come clear a path.”

“No… that’s okay, Doc.”

“Waves?”

“’Nonna… they don’t know us yet. As soon as we step foot inside with security they’ll know and it will be worse the next time.”

“Okay, so what are you thinking?”

“How do you feel about being pregnant?”

“Not on my to do list, baby girl.” Wynonna looked down, blinking for a moment in dawning understanding as Waverly suddenly pulled up her top and stuffed a lap blanket under it. “Ohhhhh. Pull up somewhere where they won’t see us, Doc.”

Doc had no idea what the sisters were planning but the grin of anticipation on Wynonna’s face almost had him feeling sorry for the members of the press.

_Almost._

Taking a detour around the parking area, he pulled up behind some bushes. He watched for a moment, a smirk breaking out as they slipped into their roles and stepped into view. When there were no sudden baying from the gathered press, he pressed the call button on his phone as he started the vehicle moving again.

“Jeremy. Wynonna and Waverly are making their way in through the main doors. Do not act like you know them but make sure they are allowed in. I’m coming in through the back and will meet up with you in five.”

“Excuse me! Would you mind!?”

Wynonna added a loud moan to emphasis Waverly’s calls for them to move out of their way. Jesus! Yeah, they were trying to keep a low profile but she was glad she wasn’t really there for a baby popping emergency with how little attention the assholes were paying.

“Crazy chick with a bun in the oven! Move it assholes or I will pop this sucker out of my vagina all over your overpriced knock off heels! Yes! I said vagina! Oh shit! I think it's coming!”

“Leather pants? Shouldn’t you be wearing a maternity dress?”

“Excuse me?!” Wynonna rounded on the sneering Ken doll looking tool that had dared share his opinion. “Shouldn’t you be minding your own business you misogynistic asshole?! Get your toxic opinions out of my way before I kick your ass, pop this baby out and then she can kick your ass too!”

“Yeah!”

Wynonna grinned and shared a quick high five of female solidarity with the CNN reporter.

“Come on, sis… time to push that baby out of your hoohaa.”

As the doors closed behind them, Waverly ushered Wynonna out of sight before they could both collapse into a fit of inappropriate for a hospital giggles.

“Hey! Pssst!”

“Jeremy? Why are you hiding behind a Ficus? That’s a type of plant, Wynonna.”

“I knew that,” Wynonna snorted as though she had known all along.

“Doc said to keep out of sight,” Jeremy explained sheepishly. “Come on, everyone is this way. We’ll arrange passes for you, but for now, stick with one of us.”

“Press been a problem inside too?”

“You could say that,” Jeremy gulped at the memory. “Someone got in disguised as a doctor not long after John Henry left. They managed to take pictures of Rosita and Nicole before they were stopped. Ms Pressman is still furious.”

Which was an understatement, Waverly decided as all the power in Shae’s voice carried down the brightly painted corridor with a fire and fury, Waverly could almost feel the sting of like a lash against her skin.

“No! You listen to me! The press has done too much damage as it is! There will be no press conferences… Not one single word! I lost two members of my family today and those assholes used that to get ratings before their families could even be told! I want a public apology for them! I want Svane sacked! And _then_ I want you to sue their asses on behalf of their families! Do I make myself clear?!”

Waverly wasn’t sure if what she was guessing was Shae’s team of expensive lawyers did more than nod under the weight of Shae’s anger before fleeing but once they were out of sight the usually polished and composed singer sagged against the wall and seemed to curl around the bundle of pain Waverly was sure she was carrying just as she had been since she had heard about the crash.

Shae stiffened at the sound of footsteps approaching and relaxed in relief again when she realised who it was. “You made it!” She clung to them, drawing strength from their being there… especially Waverly. Nicole had been floating on air when they had arrived at the arena, her face lit by an utterly adorable smile as she had relented to hers and Rosita’s questions and revealed that Waverly had said she loved her and her hope that she meant more than just as friends.

They had hoped that too.

Their best friend deserved love.

And now Waverly was there, travelling over a thousand miles from her home to Minneapolis in a way that screamed ‘more than friends’, just as the way the lingering effects of the devastation she had felt at the news dampening her usually sunny disposition and etching creases into her face did.

“Come with me.” With her hand on Waverly’s back, Shae guided her down the corridors towards Nicole’s room and led them inside. “Don’t let the machines and everything put you off... it’s mostly there to observe now,” she quietly assured them as Waverly’s eyes grew wide as she took it all in. “She took a licking but she’s going to be okay.”

Waverly edged closer to the bed, her eyes travelling up the length of Nicole’s body. Even with her feet hanging off the end she still looked too small and fragile with all the machines beeping and flashing away around the bed.

Her skin was pale… too pale. The only colour coming from the shock of red hair haloed around her head and the livid bruising starting to show on the exposed flesh of her face and arms.

Waverly’s fingers trembled in indecision. She needed… ached to touch Nicole, to assure herself that she really was there and going to be okay. But she didn’t dare in case all she managed to do was hurt her even more. In the end, she touched the covers draped over her body, consoling herself with just being close.

The sight of the bandage on Nicole’s right shoulder made Waverly flinch as her mind all too helpfully played back the sound of the shot that had caused what lay beneath. It was another bruise that drew her eye more though. One that was bisected by a neatly stitched, inch long cut, just above her left eyebrow. It stood out above all the others on Nicole’s face and Waverly knew it was probably the one that was the cause of many of the machines.

“Should she be asleep with a head injury?”

“When they brought her in they needed to give her painkillers while they rested her shoulder, it was dislocated. Unfortunately, they didn’t know she’s got a sensitivity to some drugs and instead of just taking the pain away it left her like this…”

Waverly frowned at the almost teasing expression on Shae’s face over what was something that sounded pretty damn important to her. Before she could question or challenge the other woman, she felt a tug upon her sleeve and glanced down to find a pair of brown eyes gazing up at her.

“Nicole…”

“Hiiiiiiiiiii. Oh, you are so pretty.”

“Oh. My. God. Is she high? Please tell me she’s high?” Wynonna begged as Nicole lifted a hand and waved it around like she was seeing something amazing.

“As a kite,” Shae confirmed with a soft chuckle. “This is why Nicole is so careful with how much she drinks.” She shook her head fondly as Nicole started lightly pawing at Waverly’s face with the hand not confined by a drip and tried to stick a finger in Waverly’s mouth when the younger woman tried to speak. “I need to go check on how things are going. If you need help with her just call.”

“I think I’ll see if I can find Doc and Mercedes.”

Waverly was so focused on Nicole… and making sure she didn’t get poked in the eye, that she barely even registered their words until she heard the click of the door as it closed behind them.

“Phone. Hav’ you got a phone?”

“Yes?”

“Coul’ I borro’ it? I need call my girlfriend,” Nicole whispered. “They won’ let me and can’t find mine.”

“Your girlfriend?” Waverly frowned in confusion as she handed over her cell. Getting into position just in case Nicole phoned the cops or something, she clasped a hand over her mouth as she realised that the number Nicole was struggling to enter was hers.

“Aww, nuts… is busy. Need ta let her know I’m okay. Don’ want you ta worry, Waves.”

Waverly let out a startled meep and tried to brace herself before she crashed into Nicole’s battered and bruised body as she grabbed her and yanked her closer.

“I’m okay, see. No need ta worry, Waves. Bu’ I need call you so ya know I’m okay.”

“God you are adorable when you’re high. So I’m your girlfriend, huh?”

“I hope so. I love you sooooooo much. Sick ah jus’ being friends. Oh… but, we are friends too! Shhh…”

“I understand, Nicole. I love you too.”

“You do? Ohhh, I need to call ya!”

“You need to stay put!” Waverly huffed as she tried to push Nicole gently back onto the bed as she struggled to stand up. “I’m right here, baby. There’s no need for a phone.”

“I didn’ get to message back… You’ll think I don’ love ya!”

“I’m right here. Now settle down or I’ll tie you down.”

“Ohhh, kinky!”

“Nicole!”

“Lay with me?”

“What?” Waverly lifted her head, searching Nicole’s eyes as the suddenly lucid request but her brown eyes were still all blown wide and struggling to focus.

“Need ta feel you.”

“Nicole.” Waverly tried to protest as Nicole tugged and pulled in an effort to get her on to the bed but she didn’t want to hurt her and the truth was that she needed the contact too and she didn’t kick up all that much of a fight or try to get back off the bed once she felt Nicole’s arms around her and the lulling beat of her heart was beneath her ear.

They had a lot to talk about but that could wait until Nicole was more likely to remember what she’d even said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> High Nicole is so delightfully squishy and unfiltered.


	10. Chapter 10

Waverly wasn’t sure at first what had startled her awake but she kept her eyes shut, absorbing the sounds and feel of everything around her before attempting to take it any further.

Warmth is what she felt first, a solid but comforting presence pressed against her back that was so far removed from how it had felt to sleep with her ex. Champ had been like sleeping with a gorilla, all rough, punishing ‘cuddles’ that crushed the breath out of her when he was in the mood and the rest of the time it was flailing limbs as he tried to take over every inch of the bed.

This… the arm draped across her waist, the way their bodies were softly moulded together felt like heaven and Waverly had never felt so comfortable and cherished being the little spoon as she did right then.

Their bodies breathed together, the rise and fall revealing the unusual but very enticing softness of breasts pillowed against her back. They filled in another piece of the puzzle for Waverly and she knew, without needing to open her eyes to look, that it was Nicole she was sleeping with.

The thought made her smile until the reason why they were in bed together came back to her at the same time as the insistent sounds of machines beeping along with Nicole’s rising pulse, and the clinical scent of disinfectant that hung in the air made themselves known.

Nicole’s hand fluttered against Waverly’s waist and she felt the gradual tightening in every line of Nicole’s body even though she didn’t squeeze or grab. Her breathing quickened, rising to a stressed panting that matched the moans and whimpers falling from Nicole’s mouth.

Waverly turned in Nicole’s arms, moving slowly and gently so as not to jolt Nicole’s already battered and bruised body or pull out her IV.

Nicole’s warm brown eyes were still closed, but Waverly could see the rapid back and forth flutter of them beneath her eyelids as the nightmare she was having tightened its hold on her. Mindful of the bruises that had spread across the pale skin and the stitches above her left eye, Waverly gently cupped and stroked Nicole’s face in the hope that her touch would calm her.

“It’s okay, Nicole. I’m right here.”

Nicole whimpered louder but started to gradually relax against her, her tightly bunched muscles unwinding little by little the more Waverly talked.

With Nicole’s nightmare finally over, Waverly became aware of the intimacy of their position now they were face to face… especially as Nicole shifted slightly, moving closer in her sleep in a way that unintentionally pressed her muscular thigh firmly between her own.

“Ohhh, fudge,” she breathed out softly, her hips unconsciously twitching and grinding down against the thick muscle. They hadn’t had the chance to talk and Nicole was injured and all she could think about was just how much more amazing it would feel if she just moved her hips a little more and pressed back against Nicole.

Not good thoughts to be having.

“So beyond not good. Get a grip, Waverly…”

“Waves?”

Her voice was soft but rough with sleep in a way that made Waverly shiver just a little, her nipples springing to life where they rubbed against Nicole’s breasts in a way that Waverly felt was an utter betrayal of her good intentions.

Luckily all the clothes still between them stopped Nicole from noticing…

_Yay, for sensible bras!_

Or maybe Nicole was just too much of a gentlewoman to bring them up…

_So to speak… not like she hadn’t done a fine job already._

Or, Waverly realised as Nicole moved a little more and her face creased up with a wince, she was in too much pain to be noticing her body’s reaction to hers.

“Don’t move, Nicole. Let me just slide off the bed so you can get comfy.”

“No!” Nicole smiled in apology as Waverly’s eyes flew wide. “Sorry, didn’t mean to shout like that. I, eh, if you don’t mind I would prefer it if you stayed with me? Here… On the bed.”

“You would?”

“Yeah. I like holding you,” Nicole blushed.

“I like it too,” Waverly grinned. “I really need to get up though, Nicole… just to pee,” she quickly assured her as Nicole’s face fell. “One wrong squeeze or move and I think it might burst,” she grimaced at the rambled overshare and gently tried to extract herself from the bed without embarrassing herself further.

“Do you need me to call a nurse in give you something for the pain?” She asked as she saw a barely hidden grimace as Nicole shifted on the bed.

“No more drugs. I got them to stop them when a nurse was in about an hour ago poking and prodding me… and tutting at just how loud you were snoring,” Nicole teased gently, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth at Waverly’s offended look.

“One, it is not weakness to have something for the pain if you need it. And two… I do not snore!”

“You totally do… But, it’s a cute snore. Could you hurry back, Waves? I really just want to hold you again.”

Gawd! Even coming from a face that was bruised and slightly swollen in places there was no resisting that cute puppy expressing! Not that Waverly wanted to resist. She had held herself back and kept Nicole at bay because she was scared of being abandoned and she had still come far too close to losing her. And one of the things that hurt the most about that, was that she had wasted so much time being afraid and saying nothing when they could have been together, _really_ together.

“I’ll be right back.”

Nicole was left breathless and leaning towards where Waverly had been standing at the side of the bed, seeking out the warmth of her sure but feather-light touch against her jaw and her lips against her cheek and the corner of her mouth.

“Someone is awake at last!”

Nicole had to take Shae’s word at that ‘cause she wasn’t too sure if she wasn’t still asleep and having the most amazing and hopeful dream. Or maybe she was dead and this was heaven… Waverly certainly was an angel, a force of nature that was all sunshine, warmth, and hope. No matter what she was sticking with her opinion of Waverly but Nicole was pretty damn sure that heaven was supposed to be a place with no pain and her body was starting to hurt.

“Hey, still with me, Nic?” Shae glanced at the door, wondering if it would be quicker to press the alert button to call for help or just reach out and grab someone… not that they had appreciated that when she had done the same to get help for Xavier when he had woken up in pain.

“I’m… okay.”

“No, you’re not,” Shae moved to her friend’s side, wincing as she gently combed Nicole’s hair back from her too pale face. “Let me guess… you made them stop the meds?”

“Ya know I hate that stuff.”

“I’m sure they must have some that won’t make you all cute and squiffy.”

“Oh, god. Actually, I was more worried about relying on them and getting addicted but… what did I do this time?”

“Thankfully you didn’t try streaking around the hospital like you did after the 2014 rock climbing debacle. But I think that’s something you should be talking to Waverly about. Speaking of, where is your ‘girlfriend’?”

Nicole’s eyes widened as the word triggered a memory… something about a sparkly glow that flowed from her fingers… No, that she was running her fingers through to touch Waverly’s face.

“I called her my girlfriend?” Nicole whispered urgently as she heard the toilet flushing in the bathroom. “How- erm, how did she take that?”

“Like I said, something you need to be talking to Waverly about.” Shae smiled brightly as the woman in question stepped back into the room. “Hi, Waves. I just came to check up on our hero here.”

“Hero?” Nicole scoffed at the idea.

“The first thing the press has said that we’re all agreeing on. You and Dolls saved Rosita and so many acting as quickly as you did and then you managed to save him too. Docs said that with where the bullet hit him if you hadn’t got Xavier out of the river and wrapped his leg how you did he wouldn’t have made it.”

“I’m no hero, Shae, I just did what anyone would have. Can’t even remember much of what happened,” Nicole frowned as a memory slipped away before she could grasp it.

“Not everyone would have… you did. Xavier is so grateful he said you can have a couple of days off from training,” she smiled and gently tousled Nicole’s hair as she let out a rich laugh that made the room seem brighter.

“I’m going to go let the nurses know you’re awake and might be agreeable to having some pain meds. Hush,” she warned as Nicole’s lips puckered up in a pout. “After what you went through just accept the damned help or I will have them spike your jello.”

“What flavour?”

“Lime,” Shae stated gleefully.

“I thought you were my friend, Shae!”

“What’s wrong with lime jello?”

“Usually nothing.”

“Unless you’ve got a friend like Shae who makes it with pickle juice.”

“Hey! It was once and in my defence I was a poor little rich kid who’d never had to cook before!”

“You were sixteen and once was enough!”

“You were the dummy that kept eating it and was sick for two days ‘cause you didn’t want to ‘offend’ me!”

Waverly enjoyed their light bantering and friendship that was so much like herself and Wynonna but there was something she really needed to clarify as it didn’t fit together with the supremely put together image of Shae. “You made jello with pickle juice?”

“I didn’t know any better…”

“And her cooking skills haven’t improved much since then either. Good thing she’s rich and can hire a chef or she would have died from self-poisoning years ago and tried to take me with her.”

“Lord, I never thought I would hear of someone as bad as Wynonna in the kitchen. She made mac n’ cheese once… after five days of soaking the saucepan, we had to give up and throw the whole thing away ‘cause that pasta was not coming out without the aid of a stick of dynamite.”

“They’re definitely not allowed around the kitchen together then,” Nicole chuckled.

Waverly reached for Nicole’s hand as her laughter was broken off by another wince. Nicole’s fingers trembled slightly as they twined with hers. As Nicole sank back against the pillows with an exhausted sigh, Waverly caught Shae’s eyes across the bed and saw her own worry reflected back at her.

“I’ll go get that nurse. You be good for your girl, Nicole, you hear me?”

“Bossy,” Nicole mumbled more shakily than she would have liked. As the soft click of the door opening and closing rang out like the harsh ringing of a bell to her, it finally dawned on Nicole that Shae had called Waverly hers. It was something Shae had done before… but never where Waverly could hear her and she wasn’t sure if she should say anything and bluster her way out, maybe make a joke of it… or even if she had the energy to do so.

Twice Waverly had said she loved her but Nicole knew that love came in all different forms and depths and while for some the words came easily and meant little, for others like herself they meant everything.

She just wasn’t sure where Waverly fell on the scale.

With trepidation in her heart, Nicole forced her eyes to open and looked hesitantly at Waverly, scared as to what she might see if anything.

Waverly was watching her intently but with her gaze fixed as they were upon her lips, she didn’t seem to notice that she had opened her eyes and Nicole had time to take in every nuance of her expression; the way she pulled her lip through her teeth, worrying at the plump curve; the soft blush across her cheeks and the way her breathing hitched slightly as her eyes finally met hers and Nicole saw the widening of her pupils.

Need and heat bloomed within Nicole, her lips tingling in anticipation of the kiss she ached to claim from Waverly if she would let her.

But…

As she tried to raise herself up from the pillow, a nurse bustled in and fussed at her for moving around too much and tried to shoo Waverly off the bed as she injected a syringe full of painkillers into the IV bag with a ruthless efficiency that left Nicole no time to try and stop her before the deed was done and she was bustling out again just as fast.

“Damn it,” Nicole slurred, already feeling the drugs kicking in. “Thought suppose’ to be milder.”

“Just let them work, Nicole.” Waverly ran the pad of her thumb back and forth across Nicole’s knuckles as Nicole seemed determined to fight against them.

“Not ‘til you’re up here,” she patted at the bed and hoped the smile she gave looked more inviting than a drunk serial killer. “Need you.”

Slipping off her shoes, Waverly carefully slid onto the edge of the bed. The hell with what the nurses thought anyway! There was no defence against the puppy look or the strong arms urging her closer until they were pressed together again in a way that would have felt awkward with anyone else but just felt right with Nicole.

“Only thing kept me going was you.”

Waverly stilled as Nicole’s murmured words was nearly lost with how she was burrowed down against her, her breath warm against her boobs. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’ get to answer you’re message… couldn’ die without lettin’ ya know how much I love ya. Kep’ me fightin’.”

“Then I’m glad it gave you something to fight for ‘cause I don’t want to lose you.” She let out a startled squeak as Nicole suddenly popped back up, her face so ridiculously and adorably close that their noses brushed together.

“You don’?”

“Never. Now lay down, you’re making me go cross-eyed.”

“’kay…” Nicole snuggled back down against the fragrant pillows of Waverly’s breasts. God but they were soooooo nice and comfy but… “Did ya mean what ya said?” she asked as she popped back up again.

“About going cross-eyed? Yes,” Waverly chuckled lightly.

“Noooo, not tha’. I mean… ya love me?” Nicole asked hopefully.

Waverly bit her lip nervously, her breathing growing a little ragged under the weight of the gorgeous brown eyes looking at her expectantly despite how unfocussed she was. She’d known what Nicole was asking, of course, she had. And she had meant the words, every single one of them when she had spoken them over the phone and typed them.

Seeped in rejection after rejection, they were not words that came easily to Waverly though. Even when she said them to Wynonna she still half expected to wake the next day and find that her sister had just upped and left again.

In Waverly’s experience, everyone left her.

Her continued silence was hurting Nicole. Waverly could see that in the pain creeping in around the edges of her eyes, snuffing out the joy and hope in the as they flickered off to the side and cast down.

It was that hurt that gave Waverly the strength and courage to reach out, her finger caressing across Nicole’s cheek to draw her attention back to her. “If I tell you the absolute truth do you promise you’ll lay back down and rest?”

“Yeah?” Unless it was bad. In which case she would probably crawl and claw her way to the bathroom and just lock the door until everyone forgot she was there.

“I meant what I said.”

“Cool…” Smiling in relief, Nicole allowed her body to sag against Waverly’s again… for a second at least. “But… love, love or _love,_ love?”

Waverly took a breath and took a leap off the edge into the unknown, praying that Nicole would be there to catch her. “I don’t want to be just friends with you anymore. I. Love. You, Nicole Haught.”

She punctuated each with a kiss. Each one lingering more than the one before until the last one left Nicole with an adorable, goofy and dazed look on her perfect face that had nothing to do with the drugs clouding her system.

Waverly felt lighter for speaking the words, freed by the joy on Nicole’s face. “Is that answer enough?”

“Hmmhm, yep. For sure.”

“Good,” Waverly smiled softly as Nicole lay back down again. She could feel the smile curving Nicole’s lips against her collarbone.

“Waves?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you too. So, so much.”

Waverly’s heart soared further, buoyed by the softly spoken but heartfelt words… which a soft snore vibrating against her had Waverly hoping Nicole would remember when she woke up again.

She had heard them though. And now she knew she was even more sure that she wanted to be with Nicole and explore their feelings together.

Smiling softly, Waverly gently carded her fingers through the softness of Nicole’s hair as she continued to snore lightly against her. Despite the general noise and clatter that came with a busy hospital full of patients, and the infernal beeping of machines, it was peaceful to the point that Waverly found her mind drifting along to the point that she nearly jumped out of her skin, electricity shooting up her spine and setting off flashes of light in her eyes as she opened them and was greeted by the sight of a stranger, a blonde woman, looking down at them.

“Jesus!”

“My apologies, Nurse Lucado didn’t tell me we were so crowded that patients were having to share beds now.”

“I- I’m not- It’s- I mean- We’re…”

“Relax,” she laughed. “I’m teasing. I just met Ms Pressman and your sister I believe? They warned me that I would find you here. Waverly, right? I’m Doctor Shapiro… You can call me Eliza.”

“Waverly… which you already know,” Waverly rolled her eyes at herself.

“How’s our patient doing?”

Brave. Soft. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. Snuggly. Loving. Adorable when high. Quite possibly her girlfriend and maybe her soul mate but she was working on that… Also battered and bruised. Hurting… Nearly lost her!

“Shouldn’t you be telling me that?” Waverly snapped a little more than she’d meant to. “I’m sorry… apparently, I’m a bit on the snippy side today.”

“Totally understandable. And no offence was taken at all,” Eliza assured the young woman with a soft smile. “Trust me, you’re a breath of fresh air compared to Ms Pressman… She had one of the senior consultants in tears earlier.”

“She is very protective of her family.”

And so was Waverly. Eliza could see that by her apparent need to always be in contact with her patient to reassure herself that she was there and okay. She tried to, reluctantly, move off the bed as Nurse Lucado stepped in to hand her some records and glower at Waverly and Eliza got to see that the need for contact went both ways as Nicole frowned and tried to pull her back. That was okay though, she could work around that easily and she would make sure that Nurse Lucado and all her ‘rules’ didn’t try to come between them.

“You hop back up and keep her calm while I check on her.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry about Nurse Lucado. Better to break the rules a little than risk her breaking a bone when she falls off the bed trying to get to you. Now… how has she been since you got here? Anything you’re worried about?”

While she checked Nicole’s vitals and looked at her charts, Eliza listened patiently as Waverly explained about Nicole’s reaction to the drugs and the pain she was in. Double checking the notes, she tapped a finger against her chin. “Hmm, that shouldn’t have knocked her out quite that much but it is highly likely that everything just caught up with her.”

“Is there anything else you could try? The pain was really bad but I think she might refuse to take anything if it knocks her for a loop like that again.”

“Darn tootin’ I will.”

“Ahh, she’s alive,” Eliza teased as the redhead grumbled and tried to pull the covers over her head. “How are you feeling?”

“You mean apart from feeling like I was shot at, tossed around in a coach as it crashed off a bridge, and swept down the river in the dark?” Nicole knew she was snapping more than she probably should but she was getting a little tired of strangers poking at the raw wound over her heart from losing her friends. Even if it was the Doctor’s job to ask, it still hurt to be forced to revisit it all and she was tired of it.

“Yes, apart from that.”

Hearing the gentle rebuke in the Doctor’s voice, Nicole peeked out from under the covers to look at Waverly and regretted, even more, her words once she saw the tightness around Waverly’s mouth and the tear shimmering on her lashes. Nicole reached for her and watched Waverly’s face relax as her fingers traced up and down her arm, carefully avoiding knocking against the port where the IV was.

Nicole smiled as Waverly’s hand found hers and she savoured their elegant strength of her fingers as they laced with hers. “I feel… Pretty good actually.” How could she not when her words had Waverly’s eyes rushing to find hers and she looked at her like that… All shy anticipation with just a hint of mischief.

“Are you up for some food then? Something light to help soak up the effects of the painkillers… There’s a nice vegetable soup on today and Ms Pressman said you might like some lime jello?”

Nicole’s head snapped towards the door, spotting it was cracked open as Shae and Wynonna’s cackles bled through the gap and she saw her so-called friend peeking at her through the window. “You little shit, Shae!”

Eliza had no idea what the joke was but she was a firm believer of laughter being healing and they were all going to need that and each other to get through everything in one piece. “Soup for two and no lime jello it is… what are your thoughts on puddings? Chocolate or vanilla?”

“Both?”

“Both,” Waverly nodded.

“Both is good.”

Eliza rolled her eyes at their blatant ‘The Road to Eldorado’ movie reference but they looked so adorably pleased with themselves that she let it slide. “Then both it is.”

“Doc… When will I be able to get out of here?”

“We’ll see how the rest of the day and tonight goes first but… realistically you’re looking at another couple of days stuck here while we make sure everything is okay with your head and that you didn’t swallow anything nasty in the river. And… I really want to find you an option for your pain…”

“I can do without,” Nicole stated defiantly, eager to do anything if it meant getting out of the hospital.

“I’m sure you would try but… let us make it easier for you so you can get better faster.”

“Don’t worry, Eliza, I’ll make sure she does what’s best.” Waverly ignored Nicole’s soft pout as Eliza chuckled and left the room.

As the door closed, she turned on her side, laying her head next to Nicole’s on the pillow as their legs entwined beneath the covers. With the Doctor out of the room, Nicole had allowed herself to relax again, revealing the pain and weariness lingering around her eyes. She tracked the lines with her fingertips, smoothing them away with the softest of touches and lingering kisses.

Her lips were so soft and gentle, addictively so as they breathed and sighed into each other. Waverly ached to deepen their kiss but she really didn’t want their first time together to be in a hospital room.

Waverly slowly, reluctantly, eased back, returning time and again to savour one more taste and feel of Nicole’s lips. Her breath caught, her eyes widening, a pulse thrumming hot and heavy through her body at the sight of the tip of Nicole’s tongue sliding out to swipe delicately, hot and slick, at the tips of her fingers.

The arrival of their food prevented Waverly from saying ‘hell with it’ and joining whatever the hospital equivalent of the mile high club and Waverly was hard pressed to decide if that was a good thing or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is still much to say and work out between them but dang it... squiffy Nicole struck again.  
> The next chapter will have a location jump to that Nicole will hopefully be more lucid.


	11. Chapter 11

“Jesus fucking Christ on a pogo stick! Haught! Are you rich?!”

“Wynonna!” Waverly slapped at her sister’s shoulder, aghast that she would blurt something like that out… even if the surroundings did kind of beg the question.

When Nicole had invited them there it had just never occurred to Waverly that if they had been neighbours then Nicole’s would be from a similar background as Shae who was born into money… a ‘poor little rich girl’, as she had put it herself. They were both so humble and down to earth though. To the point that even though Shae was very successful in her own right, she never acted like a spoiled, self-serving, entitled, diva and only pulled the fame card to make sure everyone was treated right. And Nicole, her actions had never once hinted that the woman Waverly had come to know would have basically grown up in a house… no, house was too normal a word for the HUGE mansion guarded by imposing walls and an even more imposing set of guarded gates with a stylised metal ‘H’ on them.

“Ow! Damn it, sis! Have you seen this place? I was only askin’,” Wynonna defended herself as she rubbed at her shoulder. Damn but her sister could pack a punch for someone that looked so tiny and unassuming!

“Well it was rude,” Waverly admonished her as she moved back to Nicole’s side, the need to be close to her winning out over the one that she might need to be close to her sister to slap some manners into her again.

“It’s okay,” Nicole chuckled softly. Sliding a hand up the warm curve of Waverly’s back, she gave her slender shoulder a gentle squeeze as she continued to glower at her sister ready to defend her honour. “This place was my grans.”

Following Nicole’s eyes, Waverly’s eyes widened as she took in the portrait hanging like a sentry over the entrance hall. It was formal and yet still managed to hold a warmth that felt more personal thanks to the dimpled smile playing about the lips of the woman that could only be Nicole’s gran.

Waverly had no idea as to what Nicole’s parents looked like but, with the twinkle in her soft brown eyes and dimpled smile, looking at her gran was like taking a glimpse into Nicole’s future.

“Gran was the millionaire. Self-made too. I make my own way… Shae does too, it was how we wanted to do it, all or nothing without help… struggling artists and all that. Even when things were rough going I wanted to make it on my own merit.” A decision her gran had supported by dishing out some tough love when needed and let her struggle.

They had one agreement in place… the moment she asked for help in anything instead of finding her own way… that was when she had to give up on her dreams and take up a job working in an office.

There were days when she’d had to make the decision on if she wanted to eat or sleep in a bug infested motel room with six other dancers, that was when she questioned everything and it almost had her picking up the phone and asking for help but… those were also the days that left her knowing that dancing was something she really wanted to do no matter how hard the struggle.

“Gran left it all to me in the end. This place, and all her businesses, even though I begged her not too.”

“Dude, why would you want to turn this sweet place down?”

“I’m just a dancer, Earp, not a successful businesswoman like she was. And I was also afraid that my parents would find a way to use me to get a hold of it.”

“Parents are shit-tickets.”

“Mine definitely are,” Nicole nodded. “Anyway, she insisted. Said I was the only one she trusted to follow my dreams and hers. She put a team of lawyers in place to run the day to day business stuff, make sure all the charities she supported still get what she wanted then to and locked everything up tight so my parents can’t touch it. And so they can’t get to it through me even I can’t touch it without the signatures and agreement from everyone else. I get the use of this place when I want it but I still just live off what I make as a dancer.”

Nicole looked around the opulent surrounding of the vast entrance hall. Her gran had welcomed her with open arms and open heart but every time she stepped inside she remembered that first time seeing the place and how overwhelming it had been.

“I always found this place a little intimidating.” Which was putting it mildly. She could still smell the streets on her and felt the sting of her parent’s rejection of her and being in there had had her convinced that if she left a mark anywhere or ‘tainted’ anything that she would be thrown out all over again. “Turns out gran felt the same way… at least that was what she told me to make me feel better when we moved out to one of the houses by the lake.”

“One of them? There’s this… and a lake big enough to have houses, plural houses, around it?”

“There’s three in all… You can either stay in one of those… not the one on the right though, that’s mine. Or you can stay in the main house if you prefer. There’s a heated indoor pool if you fancy a swim… The lake is just too damn cold to swim in most of the year round. One rule though, Earp…”

“Oh?” Wynonna lifted an eyebrow challenging, knowing she would be doing her best to break any rule at the earliest opportunity despite Waverly’s glower demanding… begging, for her to behave.

“Yeah, doesn’t matter where… I don’t want to see any more naked asses… especially not Doc’s lily-white one.”

Wynonna barked out a laugh as Doc chose that moment to walk in carrying their bags.

“What, pray do tell, did I miss?”

“Just laying down some house rules, Doc. I know he won’t admit it but, does Xavier need a hand?”

“He damn near just ripped my head off when I just put that suggestion to him so I left Mercedes with him to ‘persuade’ him otherwise.”

“You mean nag?” Wynonna snorted.

“I mean persuade and I love my lily white ass too much to say anything to the contrary.” Doc stepped to the side, barring Nicole with a gentle hand to her wounded shoulder before she could take another step towards the door. “If he does need a hand _I_ will provide one.”

Nicole nodded reluctantly, trying not to feel bitter about the fact that her shoulder wasn’t at a hundred percent. Really, it was to be expected and frankly it was a miracle that she’d gotten away as lightly as she had. But that didn’t mean that she had to like it that her shoulder had proved to be difficult to get back into place and once there that had been just the start of her problems instead of the beginning of the end.

With the continued problems with her shoulder and the heartbreak of having to say goodbye to two of their family while dodging the increasing invasive behaviour of the press, Nicole needed a break. And after waking to find one of the more sleazy members of the press in their room taking a photo of her and Waverly sleeping… and having to step in and rescue Mercedes after they had cornered her and started badgering her with questions about Tucker and if she had known what he was like, Nicole had had enough!

She didn’t make use of the mansion in Toronto often. Even before her gran had died… especially when she was preparing for a gig or tour, for those she rented and shared with others closer to where she was working to save on travelling. The mansion, despite the size of the grounds, was perfect in its seclusion and security and that was what they needed the most of right then.

The people that could afford houses in that area of Toronto didn’t skimp on anything, especially not their privacy.

Waverly stayed by Nicole’s side as Doc made his way out to check on Xavier and Wynonna went to pick out a room for herself… and more than likely for Doc and Mercedes with her. That was a whole situation that Waverly was still trying to get her head around… how her ‘free as a bird’, ‘fall for no one’, sister had managed to apparently fall for two people at the same time.

She couldn’t deny that they all seemed to be good for each other though.

“Hey, you okay, Nicole?” Seeing the slight slump in Nicole’s posture, Waverly gently braced a hand against her spine, feeling the tenseness and slight quiver in the muscles there and the outbreak of sweat that beaded across her forehead.

“Yeah, just hospital fatigue I think,” Nicole grimaced. She’d been laying on her back for over a week and it had been more exhausting than doing a month of back to back shows without a break.

“Probably looking forward to getting some sleep without getting poked and prodded every couple of hours, huh?”

“That sounds like heaven,” Nicole smiled softly.

“Come on then.” Before Nicole could stop her, Waverly picked up both their bags and gave Nicole a pointed glare that had her hand dropping back to her side as she went to claim one back. “Lead the way, Nicole.”

“So bossy!”

“Not all the time…Not _everywhere_ ,” Waverly purred.

Nicole choked on a breath, her feet rooting to the spot for a moment as Waverly’s words, how she spoke them and the heated glance she gave her all zipped off her brain in a shower of sparks and rushed south in a molten wave. And Waverly knew exactly what she had done to her too going by the far too pleased with herself expression as Nicole jogged to catch back up to her so she could lead the way down the right path as they branched off.

“Wow!” Waverly looked around in wonder as they drifted away from the pristine, manicured to within an inch of their lives shrubs and lawn that lay by the house and moved onto a winding path overshadowed by towering trees that reminded her of the park they had spent time in.

And while this path also opened up onto a view of a lake it was the pretty cottage that looked like it had been plucked straight out of the pages of a book of fairy tales, the good part, no evil witches in this cottage; that caught her eye.

As they stepped inside, Waverly realised that calling it a cottage was a stretch too as it was most definitely bigger than it looked as there were stairs leading up and also down.

“It’s built into a bank,” Nicole explained as they stepped inside. “From the front, it looks like just one story but there’s actually another level below this that looks out over the lake… it used to be a conservatory and living space but gran cleaned it out and let me use it for dance space. And upstairs there are two bedrooms.

Rubbing at the back of her neck, Nicole scuffed at the worn but highly polished wood with the toe of her worn workout shoes. “Erm, listen, I don’t want to just assume anything so if you would rather… you know, sleep up in the main house or… somewhere else…”

Waverly stepped closer, kind of finding it utterly endearing how flustered Nicole was getting. “I’ve been sleeping with you for a week now, Nicole…”

“Yeah, that was a bit different though. Not like anything could happen in a hospital bed.”

“You are so damn adorable when you blush as red as your hair that I’m tempted to tease you but… Nicole… Unless the reason you’re offering an out is because _you_ don’t want to share a bed with me…”

“That’s… No…!”

“Then hush…” Deciding that brazen and bold were the way to go so there were no misunderstandings, Waverly stepped even closer until she could feel the brush of Nicole’s clothing with every breath they took. “‘Cause I really, really want to do more than just sleep with you.”

Gawd but she hoped she was being bold enough! She could already feel the heat creeping up her neck.

“Yeah?” Nicole bit her lip hopefully as Waverly’s fingers stalked their way up the front of her shirt to play with her collar and the hair at the nape of her neck.

“Yeah! I really, _really_ , don’t know what I’m doing though, Nicole.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Nicole husked softly.

Waverly’s breath caught at the blazing heat in Nicole’s eyes. “I ache for you so much.” It made her pant with need just giving voice to her desire for the beautiful woman before her. “And I’m also more than a little bit terrified that I’ll do something wrong and disgust you or something,” she admitted shakily.

“I don’t think you could ever do that, Waverly. We’ll learn together… okay? Whatever pace you need.” She was too afraid that she would scare Waverly off to offer anything else. Not that her experience was all that expansive, certainly nowhere near what was rumoured. But she had experience and had always known where her interests lay whereas, with Waverly, she was her first foray beyond just thinking girls were cute. And that, being Waverly’s first, was equal parts thrilling and terrifying to Nicole.

She knew that there were some lesbians that refused to be the first for what they called a baby gay; someone discovering who they were, what their sexuality was. There were many reasons for that but one of the main ones was for fear of having their hearts broken by a straight girl ‘experimenting’.

The thought of cutting Waverly loose, going ‘be free, go experiment’, that just hurt like hell and filled Nicole with dread. Not because of any bazaar ‘her lesbian virginity is mine’ kind of thing… it was more, ‘my heart belongs to Waverly’.

Nicole ached for Waverly in every way it was possible to ache for another person. Sexually, physically, and mentally.

She stepped forward the scant inches needed to close the gap between them, the delicate brush of their clothing, the heat of their bodies sending desire pulsing through her body.

Nicole watched, mesmerised, as her fingers caressed the line of Waverly’s jaw, feeling the way the younger woman leaned into her touch, her hazel eyes darkened, her lashes fluttering as a soft moan drifted past parted lips. “Waverly, is- is it okay if I kiss you?”

Unable to find her voice, Waverly answered by giving a brisk nod and, with a fierce grip on her collar, pulled Nicole down to meet her upwards surge almost before her question had had time to fully leave her mouth. She poured herself into their kiss, their lips moulding together perfectly, as though she feared it would be their last. Nicole’s hands settled upon her waist, the flutter of her strong, elegant fingers against her ribs and the gentle, searching sweep of the tip of her tongue against the seam of her lips had a moan leaving her that was so deep and full of need and lust in a way she’d never felt before that she almost didn’t recognise it as her own.

Gripping her tighter, Waverly pulled her closer, wanting to crawl into Nicole and lose herself in their desire. A small, pained gasp from Nicole had her stilling and pulling back in a hurry, her eyes darting to where she was pulling against her shoulder.

“Oh, fudge! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Nicole quickly assured her, restraining her with a gentle tightening of her hands upon Waverly’s waist before she could pull away. “Still a little tender,” she sighed regretfully against the furrows of concern upon Waverly’s brow.

Leaning back, Waverly searched Nicole’s face. Her lips pursed at the lines of tiredness around her eyes. “Come on, show me where our room is and you can lay down while I fix us a drink and maybe something to eat?”

Waverly really, really tried hard not to slip in the puddles of drool she was convinced she was putting on the tread of every step as she followed Nicole and her sinfully tight skinny jeans up the stairs. It was seriously taking every ounce of restraint not to close the gap and either sink her fingers or teeth into the curve of her generous ass.

She had thought she was keeping her desire to herself… until Nicole paused mid-step and turned to look at her over her shoulder, a dark eyebrow arching up above a knowing twinkle in her eye.

“See something you like?”

“Oh, shut up.” Waverly grinned at Nicole’s light laughter and gave the curve of her ass a quick pinch… or tried to. Dancing had obviously given her buns of steel that made actual pinching delightfully frustrating… Not that it would stop her from trying but it was certainly something to remember for when she did decide to try and take a bite at any time.

Opening the bedroom door, Nicole stepped aside so that Waverly could enter first. Following her in, she watched her as she let the bags slip to the floor almost absentmindedly as she looked around, her eyes raking over every inch of the room as though she was trying to absorb every detail about her through the way it looked and every book and CD on the shelves that she ran the tips of her fingers across.

The only thing Waverly didn’t look at… was the bed. And Nicole found it adorable how often her breathing would hitch a little and her eyes kind of jumped over the width of the king-sized bed.

“It won’t bite,” Nicole whispered right next to Waverly’s ear, making her jump a little.

“What won’t?”

“That bed you’re trying not to look at. If you’ve changed your mind about where you want…”

“I haven’t,” Waverly quickly cut her off. “It’s just a little intimidating thinking about all the things I want to do in it… with you.”

“Mmmm, do tell,” Nicole purred.

“I would rather you showed me,” Waverly purred back. “Right now though I think you need to rest. You look beat.” Just saying the words seemed to release something in Nicole and her jaw cracked into a yawn. “How about you take your clothes off and lay down for me.”

“Mmmhmm,” Nicole raised an eyebrow at the suggestion.

“So I can massage your shoulder!”

“You don’t have to…”

“The Doctor said it would do it good and I _want_ to. Please, Nicole?”

Waverly bit her lip and tried desperately not to bounce around in anticipation too much as Nicole relented and started slowly unbuttoning her shirt. Deciding to act at least a little bit professionally and not at all like a voyeur, she rushed into what thankfully turned out to be the en-suite bathroom and grabbed a towel to protect the bed from drool… _from oil._

She spread it out, taking an inordinate amount of time to smooth out any creases and even more imaginary ones while she tried to prepare herself mentally. What she was about to do was no different than what she had seen done while Nicole was in the hospital and yet it was most definitely completely and utterly different. Steeling her nerves, and running out of imaginary creases, Waverly lifted her head to take in Nicole’s progress and felt her jaw literally drop as the pale, muscular lines of Nicole’s back, marred only by faded bruises and the straps of her bra came into glorious view as Nicole’s shirt slipped off her shoulders and slithered down.

Waverly kept chanting in her head that she was just doing this to help Nicole, she just wanted to make her feel good… but she was pretty sure that she made some kind of a noise that was partly a needy whimper, a plea for strength and more than just a touch pornographic as Nicole’s muscles worked and flexed surely a little more than was necessary for just removing a shirt!

Nicole rolled her shoulders in an effort to work out some of the stiffness as she made her way over to the bed. She would be lying if she said she didn’t hear the soft whimper from Waverly at her move… and if she said she didn’t flex just a little more to bring about a deeper more guttural one. A finger hooked in the waistband of her jeans halted her progress and had Nicole turning slightly to see what Waverly wanted.

Hungry eyes followed the motion of the fingers sliding across the delicate skin of her waist that raised goosebumps as they made her way to hook into the fabric just above the metal of the button and the buckle of her belt.

“I think you’ll be more comfy with these off,” Waverly breathed out huskily, biting her lip as her eyes travelled up over the subtle definition of her abdominal muscles and the lush swell of her breasts where they threatened to spill out of her lacy blue bra.

“Oh?”

“Yep,” she popped the ‘P’, smirking at the look in Nicole’s eyes. God, but she was so beautiful. “And I would _hate_ to get oil on your jeans.” Her fingers worked as she spoke, working the leather of her belt through the loops, the jingle of the metal buckle as it parted widening both their eyes as Nicole’s abdomen clenched beneath her touch.

Before Nicole could even register what Waverly was doing let alone think to protest or stop her, she found herself gazing down into Waverly’s eyes as she knelt before her, unfastening her shoes and started easing her jeans down over her hips.

“Waverly, wait.” Reaching down, she brushed her fingers through the soft strands of Waverly’s hair. Desire and wonder burned in her hazel eyes… nervousness backing it up and something that put a shimmer of tears in them. “Hey, there’s no rush, remember?”

“I nearly lost you.” It was suddenly so overwhelming again… the thought that she had come so close to losing her, to never being able to touch her even as much as she had just in that moment.

“I’m right here, baby,” sinking to her knees, Nicole cupped Waverly’s face between her hands. “I’m right here, with you.” She drew Waverly into her arms, cradling her head against her, tucking her under her chin. “I got you, Waves.”

Waverly released her breath, the tenseness leaving her as she melted into the warmth of Nicole’s body. She breathed in the scent of her; warm vanilla that lay beneath the pervasive scents of the hospital that clung to her even though she had showered before she had left for their flight.

Nicole guided Waverly back to her feet, a move which had her jeans deciding to drop as much as skinny jeans could with where Waverly had eased them to. “Well, that’s a sexy look,” she rolled her eyes as she looked down to where they were bunched around her knees.

“Oh, I don’t know… kind of works for me,” Waverly winked before breaking out into a chuckle that she restrained behind a hand at Nicole’s lips pursed. Really, it was a sexy look with her lacy but practical bra, her black boy shorts, jeans around her knees, and one shoe toed off.

Stepping back closer to all that warmth, Waverly gave her jeans a quick tug, trying to encourage them lower. “How in the hell did you manage to get into these in the first place?” she groused as they proved to be stubborn and she knelt back down to get rid of the darn things once and for all.

“They’re easier to get on than off. And frankly, anything seems easy after having to do a quick change into pleather pants on tour.”

“I can imagine.”

“Have you ever seen the episode of Friends where Ross is wearing the leather pants?”

“Yeah? Oh, my god!” Pausing, forcing Nicole to balance with one foot raised, Waverly looked up at her. “Did someone pull that on you with the talc and lotion?”

“Naw… Charlie,” Nicole chuckled. “Luckily it was a rehearsal or Dolls would have killed him. As it was we all have the ‘pleasure’ of watch him finish the dress rehearsal with his pants off wearing some dumb ass sparkly thong. That was not a fun time.”

Waverly shook her head to try and get rid of the image that had planted in her brain. Fortunately, with the jeans finally off, there was an amazingly distracting sight standing right before her in the long lines and lush curves of Nicole’s body. And yeah, she had seen her wearing outfits on stage that exposed more… but… this was in her bedroom, a far more intimate setting. And she was right there, in touching distance with hunger in her eyes.

“I- erm… get on the bed, please?”

“Okay. Ya know though…”

“What?”

“You had me strip off so I wouldn’t get oil on my clothes?”

“Yeah?”

“Still not entirely sure how much oil you plan on using seeing as it’s just my shoulder,” she quirked an eyebrow at the younger woman knowingly. “But if my clothes are at risk, then surely yours are too?”

Waverly looked down at what she was wearing as Nicole folded her arms and smirked challengingly. They both knew that getting Nicole to strip was just a ruse but Waverly wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. “You’re right.”

“Oh sweet mother of God!” Nicole felt her jaw drop again… something that Waverly seemed to be able to make happen all too easily. This time it was going to kill her though as Waverly, a bold look blazing in her eyes, was stripping out of her clothing so fast that Nicole barely had time to wonder if she was in a race to get them off before she lost her nerve or to make sure she didn’t have a chance to stop her.

Nicole barely had a chance to register just how perfect Waverly was. How stunningly beautiful and sexy she is with her long hair flowing down around her shoulders, her lightly tanned, surprisingly muscular body on stunning display… before all the hair whipped around, caressing across her body as Waverly bounced away and left her with the equally enticing view of her ass as she bent over to rummage in one of the bags she had dropped to the floor.

“Ah ha!” Waverly dangled the bottle of massage oil between her fingers triumphantly. Smirking at the slack-jawed expression on Nicole’s face and the trouble she had dragging her eyes up to meet hers, Waverly pointed to the bed. “Come on, lay down.”

Waverly licked her lips as she watched Nicole saunter the rest of the way to the bed and climbed on to it. She was pretty sure that if she had attempted it how she had, she would have face planted a couple of times, but every move, even as she crawled onto the towel and lay down, was graceful and seductive.

“Fuckin’ tease,” she grumbled under her breath even as she gave a grudging nod of her head and tip of her hat to the supremely confident side of Nicole that, along with all that dancer skill, had allowed her to pull off something like that.

“Says the woman that stripped off just to rub my shoulder. I’m still wonderin’ just how much oil you’re planning on using?”

“Well, I was thinking of pouring it all over me and using my whole body to slip and slide up and down yours.” Take that, confident Haught! Waverly crowed as Nicole’s body twitched from head to toe.

“Trust me, Waves, when the time comes you won’t need any massage oil to slide all over me.”

Waverly wasn’t sure which one of them Nicole was inferring would be wet but Waverly froze mid-stride, her body shuttering, brain rebooting after painting an all too vivid, HD, full stereo, surround sound, panty ruining image of just what it might be like to slide against Nicole, skin to skin.

She had fantasized about it before, who wouldn’t! And had touched herself while doing so. Which had brought on some of the most amazing orgasms of her life when she had thought about Nicole’s hands, her skilful fingers and tongue, bringing her pleasure. But… that had been before Nicole had known that she wanted more, that she wanted her.

"Come on, Waves,” Nicole patted the mattress beside her. “I won’t bite… unless you ask me to.”

Luckily Waverly had managed to brace herself with a hand against the mattress or she was pretty damn sure she would have face planted at that tease. Recovering quite nicely, she thought, she landed a swift slap against the curve of Nicole’s ass. “Ow! Seriously! What in the hell is your ass made of?!”

“Years of ballet and dance classes. Wanna take another shot? Or maybe a squeeze?” Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Waverly’s jaw drop as she flexed her cheeks. “Hate to point it out Waves but, if you are _really_ wanting to use that massage oil you best hop off the bed and try the other side so you can reach better.”

Which was true, she was on the wrong side of her body but with her being in the middle of a king sized bed there was going to be no comfortable position to reach her from how the Physio at the hospital had. But then, Waverly had more than just the one shoulder in mind and no restraints on what she was allowed to do without it looking like it was straight out of a porno.

Gently bracing herself with a hand upon Nicole’s back, she swung a leg over and sat down astride her, claiming the tops of her thighs and ass as a very comfy and distracting seat.

“Okay- this… this will work.”

Nope, it wasn’t at all distracting. Sitting there. Rocking back and forth against the curve of Nicole’s ass while she slid against the oil she worked into the, not unsurprisingly tense, muscles of her back. And those thick groans Nicole was doing into the pillow she was trying to chew a hole in… not distracting at all!

Nope, not even when Nicole’s groans became her own as Nicole tilted her hips just right and she was overtaken by an orgasm that had her gripping the bed covers and fighting the urge to sink her teeth into the woman responsible.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written in the midsts of yet another 5 day migraine so I hope it reads okay.
> 
> Darn it though, Waverly! You were supposed to give a nice soothing massage ONLY! -_-


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning - Chapter is not in the least bit SFW ;) Enjoy (I hope)

Nicole’s body felt alive, hypersensitive to the slightest motion on the bed beneath her caused by the needy twitching of her hips as they ground between the mattress and light pressure of Waverly’s body pressing and dancing in a subtle grind against her ass.

She had known there was more to Waverly’s desire to massage her shoulder… maybe not at first but the sudden decision that removing her pants would be a must because of the oil? That was a dead giveaway. And Nicole had gone with it eagerly. If the woman she loved wanted to get her hands on her, who was she to argue when every second they were together was a test of Nicole’s failing resolve.

Never in her wildest imagination… which had become increasingly wild because of Waverly, had Nicole ever imagined that the massage would have gone _that_ way and she would be right there, riding out the end of a shared orgasm.

Turning her head, Nicole pressed her lips to the hand Waverly had twisted up in the covers, her fingers digging into the mattress right beside her head. It trembled beneath her touch, a soft, almost distressed moan coming from behind her.

Taking advantage of the way Waverly was braced above her, Nicole turned over beneath her. Gently skimming her hands along Waverly’s arms, she sat up with her, claiming the softness of Waverly’s lips, chasing away the hints of embarrassment she had read in Waverly’s eyes as fingers tangled in her hair, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

Waverly’s whimper at the loss of Nicole’s lips turned into a ragged, panting moan as Nicole scattered soft kisses interspaced with enticing drags and nips of white teeth down her throat and across her shoulders and chest. The feel of her tongue, hot and nimble swiping across the upper swell of her breasts where they were pushed up by her bra damn near stilled her heart with anticipation.

She felt the play of long fingers against her ribs and sides, thumbs pressing with gentle restraint just perfectly against her abdomen before they moved round to her back and slid up; unhurried, tender, as they searched out and opened up pathways of pleasure that Waverly had never dreamed possible.

Even as they brushed against the strap of her bra there was restraint and no sudden triumphant grab or attempt to remove it. The restraint and respect made Waverly love her more and want to growl in frustration that she could be that way when she ached so much.

Tightening her fingers in Nicole’s hair, she pulled her head back until her throat was a perfect arch laid bare for her teeth. She nipped and sucked at Nicole’s flesh, barely restraining herself from falling into a dark place that demanded that she mark Nicole’s pale flesh so everyone would know she was hers.

Panting heavily, she pulled back, reluctantly releasing Nicole’s bottom lip from between eager teeth. Shame started to take root within her as she watched the colour bloom across Nicole’s lips but it was stamped down by the fierce hunger in Nicole’s almost black gaze. There was no judgement, no revulsion and Waverly was reminded for what felt like the millionth time that Nicole wasn’t anything like past partners as a grin of anticipation spread across her face that said she had finally met her match; that her needs and desires were welcome and in safe hands.

“Do you just like to bite or do you like to be bitten too?”

The question was soft and non-judgemental, but Waverly still found herself looking away, unable to meet Nicole’s gaze as shame bloomed again.

“Hey.” With a finger skimming along Waverly’s jaw, Nicole gently turned Waverly’s face back towards her even if her eyes refused to lift for more than a second to meet her eyes. “I’m not judging you Waves. We need to know and find out what each other likes, right? If I do something you like I want to know and if I’m doing something wrong too so I can do better and make you feel good.”

Waverly looked at her cautiously, seeing the earnestness in her eyes. She never ever wanted to have to compare Nicole to anyone else ever again, she was just so far above anyone she had been with before and they hadn’t even slept together. But with that… it blew her mind yet again. She had had lovers… okay, the douche canoe Champ, that had just been intent on doing his own thing and had just gotten offended and aggressive if she had tried to get him to change his set ways of doing things.

“What do you like?”

“Apparently having my ass humped by a sexy, hazel-eyed woman with hair for days… That was new,” she grinned.

“You mean… you…”

“Came? Yep.”

Waverly couldn’t help but beam at that. The thought that she… Waverly Earp had managed, albeit unknowingly, given Nicole pleasure in that way was… Wow!

“Do I like being bitten…? Yes,” she smiled softly as the ready admission made Waverly sag in relief. “Do I like to bite? Have I thought about sinking my teeth into your neck? Your nipples? Your waist right there?” she felt a shiver run through Waverly as she ran her fingertips across her flesh. “Here?” Waverly’s breathing hitched at the press of fingers along the inside of her thigh. “And right here… all while you come apart around my fingers?”

Waverly’s hips jerked, pressing against the thumb resting warm and solid through her soaked panties right over her aching clit. Nicole’s thumb brushed across her… once, twice, three times and Waverly cried out, her back bowing, hips thrusting needily against the firm muscles of Nicole’s tense core as she held them perfectly balanced on the bed while she smeared her copious arousal all over her.

It was entirely unfair how far over the edge Nicole had managed to dangle her without Waverly even realising. And she must have given voice to that thought somehow as Nicole chuckled darkly against her ear, making her spasm anew as she promised with a purr that it was just the start, not the end.

Nicole slid a hand around behind Waverly again, her fingers following the pretty lacy strap of her bra, pausing on the clasp. “Is this okay?”

“Yes, god yes!” Waverly nodded eagerly, not even registering the nervousness she would have usually felt at being exposed.

Nicole gave herself a mental high five as the fastening on Waverly’s bra released on her first fumbled try. She eased one strap down off Waverly’s shoulder, kissing that newly revealed strip of flesh before moving on to the next and repeating her actions. She looked into Waverly’s eyes, holding her gaze as she peeled the bra the rest of the way off.

Waverly fidgeted a little, growing nervous the longer Nicole seemed to refuse to look down at what she had revealed. As her brown eyes dropped though, all her nervousness was washed away by the soft, reverent moan and mumbled words that whispered out of Nicole and the way her hands flexed upon her back, pulling her closer.

Her touch was so unbelievably soft upon her flesh as her fingers caressed the swell of her breasts, making them ache and tighten with need. Softer still was the heat of her breath and her lips as she bestowed tender kisses all around but avoided the buds of her nipples that tightened and puckered, begging for Nicole’s attention.

Tunnelling her fingers through the soft red hair that was creating havoc on her senses with every swipe across her breasts, Waverly tugged until Nicole growled against her and lifted her eyes “So help me, Nicole, if you don’t—”

Waverly cried out, her sharp gasp turning into a thick moan as Nicole’s tongue, so hot and nimble, curled around and around one eager bud, drawing her into the heat of her mouth. Her body arched into the contact, flashes of white exploding behind closed eyelids as Nicole’s mouth and fingers played her body better than any maestro musician as she wrung gasps and moans out of her like no one had before.

Waverly grasped for Nicole, desperate for an anchor in the storm the woman was creating within her she held on to her shoulder, her neck, arms, head… anything she could reach until her fingers tangled with the straps of her bra. Frantically, suddenly filled with a need and purpose, she tugged on the bra. Working blindly, and almost mindlessly with what Nicole was doing, she somehow managed to get Nicole’s bra unfastened and tossed it somewhere off the edge of the bed to find later… or maybe never if she had her way!

With Nicole’s single-minded determination to drive her out of her mind with her mouth upon her flesh, Waverly wasn’t able to see the delights of what she had managed to uncover. But she felt them pressed against her as Nicole pulled her closer until the only thing between them was the suddenly overwhelmingly annoying fabric of their panties.

“Nicole… off… Now!” she gasped out around a sudden harder suck upon her nipple laced with the delicious edge of teeth skimming across the trapped bud as the other was rolled expertly through nimble fingers.

Nicole drew back in an instant, blinking away the daze of arousal as she searched Waverly’s eyes and body for what she had done wrong that might have hurt or upset her. “I’m sorry… Did I hurt you? Are you okay?”

Love crashed through Waverly that just a word had been enough to stop Nicole and have her putting distance between them. But neither that nor the concern in Nicole’s eyes was what she wanted. Leaning into the strength of her body, she watched as the concern started to flare with heat again as she dragged her fingers down the curves and planes of Nicole’s body to tug at the waistband of her underwear.

“These… off… now!”

Waverly was dazzled by the brilliance of Nicole’s dimpled smile and the speed of which she suddenly found herself flat on her back looking up at it and the sinful wicked intent in every line of Nicole’s body pressing her into the mattress. Then just as suddenly Nicole’s weight was gone and she propped herself up on her elbows, trying to learn how to breathe again as Nicole slid off the bottom of the bed with an easy glide and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties.

Waverly let her eyes drop down the length of Nicole’s body, her breath catching as she took in all the womanly curves and the play of muscle beneath silky skin on show and what was revealed as she stripped away the black fabric down her long muscular legs to reveal the full perfection of her body and the damp curls at the juncture of her thighs.

She wanted to wax lyrical, recite poetry or something to let Nicole know just how beautiful she was and just how much she wanted her but all Waverly managed to get out was a thick moan that luckily managed to convey her feelings well enough going by Nicole’s smirk.

Still smirking, Nicole crawled back onto the bed, pinning Waverly in place with her gaze and her hands as she ran them up her legs from her ankles, skimming over her shins and calves, up along the outside of her thighs to her hips. Hips that twitched and lifted eagerly as her fingers hooked into the edge of panties rendered almost transparent by the slick of her desire.

“You are so beautiful, Waverly. Are you sure this is what you want?” A growl, an honest to god, growl met her words and made Nicole grin all the more. Taking pity on her, Nicole eased her panties down, a thick moan leaving her at how they clung to her damp curls. The sight and subtle scent of her arousal had Nicole’s jaw aching with the desire to just bury herself against her and devour her taste.

“Nicole,” her name came out a needy, breathy whine as she raked her fingers through Nicole’s hair. She wanted to beg and plead but she wanted so much and knew so little about where to start. The eyes that dragged their way up her body were a dark, swirling storm of need that dragged Waverly in. “Nicole, please? I- I don’t know…”

She moved up, her body an erotic brush of living silk against tightly strung nerve endings as she covered her body with her own. Her weight solid but not oppressive as she settled between her eagerly parted thighs and claimed her mouth in a heated but tender kiss in one glorious movement that had Waverly convinced she now knew what heaven felt like…

Until Nicole cupped and lifted her right leg in one strong hand, guiding her leg up and around her waist as she rolled her hips in a mind-altering movement that had her clutching at Nicole and redefining everything she’d just thought about heaven.

Nicole pressed her hips closer, struggling to hold on to every ounce of self-restraint left to her as she absorbed the sight and feel of Waverly against her. It blazed a trail through her body, pooling hot and heavy at the base of her spine and through her abdomen. She could see the astonishment in Waverly’s eyes and the eagerness in the hands fluttering across the tops of her arms and shoulders to find purchase within her hair.

“You okay?” Nicole rolled her hips again as she asked, watching with hungry eyes as Waverly’s head rolled back against the pillows, a blush spreading across her chest as she whimpered.

“That feel good, Waves?” It was a rhetorical question that Nicole was sure would have been answered with a biting quip if Waverly had been capable of doing more than panting as she drowned under the sensations flooding through her body.

Not that Nicole was really faring much better as Waverly’s pleasure fuelled her own. The movement of her hips grew jerky as she felt Waverly’s arousal against her and her own slick between her thighs. A toned thigh slipped between her own, sending her hips juddering as it pressed up, creating an unexpected and delicious friction that had her back bowing, a needy cry falling from her lips. Nicole ground against it, pressing her own thigh more firmly into Waverly, angling her body to find just the right spot to give the maximum pleasure.

Waverly grabbed Nicole closer, setting her nails into the working muscles of Nicole’s back and ass as they moved together in a slick, gliding rhythm that had Waverly climbing higher than she ever had before. She panted into Nicole’s mouth, striving towards a peak that lay tantalisingly just out of reach. It was almost scary, knowing at any moment she was going to fly straight off the edge of a cliff… but she knew that Nicole would be right there with her, ready to catch her and fly with her.

“Nicole…”

“Need more, baby?”

“There’s more?”

“Oh, there is so, so much more.” Deepening their kiss, Nicole drew Waverly’s tongue into her mouth, swallowing her needy moans and gasp as she slid her hand down between them and brushed her fingers across her clit. She sped up the motion of her hips, using the weight of her body to push her hand more firmly into Waverly.

A fast learner and eager for Nicole to fly with her, Waverly angled her thigh better, the added friction causing Nicole’s hips to move faster… which had Waverly seeing fireworks as Nicole’s fingers curled and pressed, tossing her off the edge of the world with a stuttered keening cry.

She blacked out from the pleasure, she must have ‘cause the next thing Waverly became aware of was the brown of Nicole’s eyes gazing down into her eyes and the gentle motion of her fingers within her, drawing out the end of what had been the most intense and incredible orgasm of her life. Just thinking about it had her shuddering again, her back arching off the bed as another wave rolled through her.

“That’s it, baby, give it all to me. You are so beautiful when you come.”

Another curl of fingers and she came again, her body twitching uncontrollably. Her body growing too sensitive, she grabbed Nicole’s wrist, stilling the motion of her hand but holding her within her, reluctant to lose the fullness created by her fingers.

“Jesus!”

“Good?”

“Fuck! I’m regretting being a dumbass and not jumping you sooner!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll make up for lost time.”

Waverly whined at the thought and then moaned as Nicole’s fingers slid out of her grasping pussy. Before Nicole could wipe them on the sheet, Waverly brought her hand up and tasted herself upon Nicole’s flesh.

Nicole watched, mesmerised as Waverly’s nimble tongue slid between and around her fingers, drawing them into her mouth she sucked upon them, her moan vibrating against her flesh. Catching Waverly’s mouth with her own once more, Nicole searched out the taste of Waverly’s arousal with languid swipes of her tongue and swallowed her eager moans.

Panting raggedly, Waverly somehow managed to relax against Nicole’s body as the other woman somehow managed to switch their positions with another liquid smooth move. Her body felt energised and heavy all at the same time and despite her eagerness to explore Nicole’s body and her own sexuality some more, she found her eyes drifting shut and a yawn cracking her jaw as she snuggled down against the pillow of Nicole’s breasts.

“Is your shoulder okay?” Cracking her eyes open, Waverly glanced guiltily at where her hand lay upon her. God! She was such an idiot and beyond insensitive for not thinking about the strain Nicole must have put upon it while holding herself upright and thrusting into her.

And she really shouldn’t be thinking about that ‘cause it just made her want more.

“It’s fine.”

“But…”

“Waves. It’s good… I was careful,” she smiled gently until Waverly relaxed back against her. “Just you wait until you see what I can do when I’m back up to full speed with my fingers.” Nicole bit her lip at the almost audible snap of Waverly’s eyes as they flew open and gazed at her incredulously.


	13. Chapter 13

Stretching her arms above her head, Waverly leaned back against the wooden back of the dining chair and groaned in satisfaction. Beneath her feet, she could feel the rhythmic thud of bass beating the soundproofing and travelling through the flooring as the music started up in the room below.

In the two weeks since Nicole had left the hospital their days had fallen into something of a rhythm. A flowing dance of two bodies seamlessly manoeuvring around each other as she studied and Nicole went through her physiotherapy sessions… Their lives touching as Nicole sat with her afterwards, reading as she had when they had Skype’d, her presence familiar and calming. And then when Nicole went downstairs to run through routines with Xavier, Waverly would pack up and join her, finishing off her studying while watching Nicole’s body at work.

Closer and closer they would dance through the day, their lives and bodies entwining in a dance that was familiar and exciting all at the same time.

Waverly smiled as she closed her laptop and picked up the mug of herbal tea waiting for her. No doubt made just before Nicole left to go downstairs it was the perfect temperature. Those little touches were just another part of their dance where Nicole would make sure that she ate and drink instead of staying engrossed in study.

Most days she wasn’t even aware of the drinks coming and going but she was always aware of Nicole as she gently kissed the top of her head when she put a fresh drink or plate of food down.

Finishing off her tea, Waverly rinsed out the mug and left it to drain. Every move brought about a delicious ache through her body, a reminder of yet another long night of passion and discovery that had bled into the morning as the sun had painted their bodies with subtle shades of colour as it rose above the horizon in a blaze of colour.

Waverly’s thighs clenched together, her fingers clutching at the edge of the sink as that morning came back to her in a jumble of sights and sounds, each one piling on top of the other. Each more soul-stirringly erotic as she felt the tightening of Nicole’s fingers in her hair as she had pulled her closer all over again and saw the play of sun across every quivering, taut, line of Nicole’s body stretched out before her on the bed and tasted the spill of her sweet release upon her eager tongue.

That was something she had always wondered about, even before she had realised that her fascination with women went beyond just respecting them and thinking they were pretty. The first youthful exploration of her own body had been a little underwhelming, to say the least as it was difficult to switch off her mind and savour the feelings when it was her own hand doing the touching. And her first tasting of herself had been tentative at best and sullied by overhead locker-room talk of boys that generally thought that girls were nasty anyway and going down on them was just ‘gross’… Which was typically an opinion they didn’t have about themselves and their desire to have a girl on their knees pleasuring them.

Champ had been adequate at best in that regard but he preferred to receive rather than give and sometimes acted like it was his right whereas giving was sometimes a chore.

Nicole… God! The way she had settled down between her thighs the first time like she was planning on setting up home there. The look of ravenous hunger in her eyes as she had licked her lips had left Waverly gasping for breath and weak before she had even done anything. And when she had tasted… Waverly couldn’t remember much past that as her brain had just shut down from the pleasure screaming through her body from Nicole’s lusty ministrations.

Nicole was so damn good at it that Waverly was convinced that it was possible to die from too much pleasure… in fact, she was pretty sure she had. And she had been kind of terrified that she would never be able to make Nicole feel anywhere near as good.

It didn’t stop her from wanting to try though and her first taste of Nicole had been a revelation and she had understood the look on her beautiful face. Not only did she taste divine but there was so much pleasure to be had in being the one doing the exploring… In finding all the little things that made Nicole respond and cry out for _her_ and watching her body quiver and arch as she came had wrung an unexpected orgasm from herself too.

Even with Wynonna’s opinions on being with a woman, which, truthfully, Waverly had tried to block from her memory, Waverly had still felt at first as though there was a rush on getting what she wanted out of making love with Nicole… that the first orgasm meant then waiting before anything else could happen. She had soon found out though that that, was most definitely _not_ the case and there was no shame in asking for more.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Waverly topped up some reusable bottles with some fruit infused iced water. There was a refrigerator downstairs in the dance studio but Waverly had quickly realised that dancers, well Xavier and Nicole anyway, got too engrossed in the dancing to think about how the fridge got topped up after they had guzzled its contents to keep hydrated.

She could feel the bass of the music beneath her feet as she made her way down the stairs. The vibrations travelling through the wood to beat at the tips of the fingers she trailed down the polished wooden handrail became a pounding beat beneath her hand and she pushed against the door at the bottom and released the power of it.

Not wanting to disturb them, Waverly made her way in quietly and snuck around the edge of the room to where her usual chair was waiting. Which all seemed redundant given the volume of the music but she knew just how aware of their surroundings they were even in the midst of a complicated routine and she took it as a challenge, as well as being respectful of their craft, to see just how far she could make it before they spotted her.

Typically it was never far and even before the door had closed she huffed and rolled her eyes as she found herself caught in the headlights of Nicole’s smiling brown eyes.

The room is beautiful, all light and airy with a polished floor that shone in the light from what had to be the longest floor to ceiling window that Waverly had ever seen. Being south facing, with a magnificent view over the lake itself, it should have been as hot as hell in there but the air conditioning was more than up to the task and the windows were coated to keep the heat and glare of the sun out just enough that it wasn’t dazzling.

No matter how well coated the glass though it couldn’t seem to stop the sun from getting through enough to glint and gleam as it seemed to cling to Nicole’s body, highlighting the lines of muscle and the brilliance of her hair as she moved around to the beat of the music. But then, Waverly was convinced that Nicole would shine just as much in a blacked out room… and not because her skin was as pale as a ghost, how Nicole had teased her when she had told her that.

Warmed up already from their session with the physio, Nicole was moving through what Waverly now knew was almost a good luck set of moves, almost a tick, before she paused just before the music started back up again.

The beat of the music made Waverly straighten up in her chair in surprise that bordered on nervousness. It was one of the faster tracks… the one that started off Shae’s concerts. There were faster but this one… the dance moves were almost jerky as they followed the song and, more importantly, given that Nicole was recovering from what had proved in the end to be a slight muscle tear, there was a hell of a lot of arm movements that were just as jerky as everything else.

Xavier usually had Nicole build up to that routine and he watched her like a hawk ready to pounce on the slightest hint of a twinge of discomfort. Waverly trusted that Xavier wouldn’t let Nicole do it if he wasn’t sure she was ready and she _mostly_ trusted Nicole not to push her recovery but she held her breath through the entire song just the same.

Xavier nodded approvingly as Nicole came to a perfectly poised halt. He made his way over to her, his eagerness and joy only dimmed slightly by the twinge in his own leg that served as a reminder of the damage Tucker’s bullet had wrought upon him. He loved to teach with every fibre of his being, but that limping step was a painful reminder that dancing was out of his reach. He hid it though, not wanting to see the brilliant smile slip from Nicole’s face.

“Perfect! How did that feel?”

Knowing that Xavier was really asking about her shoulder and not the dance itself, Nicole rolled her shoulder. Testing out the range of movement and checking for any twinges. “Feels good.”

It should have felt better to say that. It was a step closer to being better. To being able to go back on tour. But Nicole found her smile slipping as sorrow seemed to inexplicably rear up within her at the thought.

“Nicole?” Xavier frowned in concern as Nicole looked like she was struggling to hold back tears.

“I’m fine.” Nicole waved him away with a smile she knew didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Let’s get on with this, yeah?”

She was grateful for his decision to let her be. As she moved into position in front of the mirror, trying to focus herself for the next dance they had lined up ready, she found her eyes straying, moving instinctively to find Waverly.

Just thinking her name had joy springing through her and the sight of her, the way her eyes met hers in the mirror and crinkled adorably as she smiled, had love bursting from her heart like some cheesy rom-com firework display. The sorrow was back as the first strains of music started again though and this time she knew why…

She didn’t want to go back on tour… not if it meant leaving Waverly behind.

“Haught! You missed your cue!”

“Shit! Sorry, Dolls!” Dragging her eyes away from Waverly, Nicole gave him a rueful smile of apology. “Could you line it up again for me?”

“You sure you’re up for this? We can take a break…”

“No, I’m sure.”

Xavier started the song up again but he kept an even more watchful eye on her. Usually, she used Waverly as a source of inspiration that, even when her shoulder had been hurting the most, had put a passion into every move. If that wasn’t the case today though he would have to call a halt to her training or just ask Waverly to leave so that Nicole could find her focus again. Thankfully though, Nicole seemed to find that focus in Waverly again and her body moved smoothly and precisely as danced for Waverly.

He called out instructions and encouragement to Nicole… more to keep her on track and prevent the inevitable coming together that seemed to happen whenever the two women were in the same room, than because she needed correcting.

It was inevitable though.

He looked away for a moment to select the next song and when he looked back up they were locked in each other’s embrace in the middle of the room swaying to the rhythm of the music and he was left wondering if Nicole had planned it all along as the song was one of the few that required a partner for close work.

Rolling his eyes at how hopelessly in love they were, Xavier just watched them, keeping an eye on Nicole’s form as she seamlessly took over the lead role of the dance which included several lifts and dips

“Dolls, is it okay if I just take a break?”

“Your shoulder okay?”

“Oh yeah, for sure. Just want to have a word with Waves.”

“Okay. Take as long as you need then… within reason!” He bellowed out as Waverly dragged Nicole towards the door. “You take too long and I’ll send Wynonna after you!” he warned as Waverly flashed a cheeky smile over her shoulder.

Waverly had to admit that she was a little disappointed as Nicole took the lead and steered her away from the direction that led towards the bedroom. Not that room tended to mean that they couldn’t be more… intimate. But a glance at Nicole’s profile as she opened the living room door showed a slight tenseness there that said there would be no kissing or cuddling until she had spoken.

And that made her suddenly nervous.

“Nicole?” She sat down on the couch at Nicole’s always gentle insistence and wrung her hands together as Nicole paced back and forth in front of her. The nerves eased as Nicole seemed to suddenly reach a decision and sat down right beside her, turning so that their knees touched.

Taking Waverly’s hands in hers, Nicole brushed her thumbs back and forth across her knuckles, losing herself in the familiar contact until Waverly’s fingers tightened slightly, another whisper of her name drawing her eyes upwards so she could see the concern she had placed within her unintentionally.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes… and no.”

“Okay, that’s annoyingly vague. Talk to me, Nicole. Did the physio give you bad news?” she asked with concern.

“Yes… and no.” Nicole grimaced a little as Waverly sucked on her teeth in exasperation and narrowed her eyes at her. “She gave me the all clear.”

“Nicole! That’s amazing! Isn’t it?” Nicole didn’t look like she thought it was amazing. In fact, as her eyes dropped, Waverly could have sworn she saw the sadness clouding them. “Hey,” hooking Nicole’s chin, Waverly lifted her head gently. “If you don’t feel like your shoulder is ready then maybe you should get a second opinion?”

“It’s not that,” Nicole sighed.

“Then what is it? Talk to me, baby, please… you’re kind of scaring me right now.” Her mind flashed through all the possibilities, each one more terrifying than the next and seemingly determined to settle on Nicole wanting to break up with her.

The very thought made Nicole whimper to the chaste, apologetic kiss she slanted across Waverly trembling lips. The softness of Waverly lips moulding eagerly to hers had the whimper becoming a needy moan that spilt into Waverly’s mouth, mingling with the one building within hers as Waverly swung her leg over to straddle her lap and pressed her back into the softness of the couch.

Breathless, Nicole chased Waverly’s lips as she pulled away slightly, a look of arousal and triumph greeting her as she focused upon her hazel eyes.

“And what’s that look for?” She smiled as Waverly’s teeth nipped at the fingers she caressed across her kiss-swollen lips.

“It’s not so scary when I know how much and how quickly I can turn you on.” Proving a point, Waverly ground her hips down, biting her lips as Nicole’s head rolled back against the back of the couch, her eyes flickering shut as she let loose a lusty moan that made her melt into the thrust of Nicole’s hips into the cradle of her thighs.

“Bedroom,” Waverly growled urgently.

“As much as it quite literally pains me to say this… no… not yet anyway,” she lessened her refusal with another kiss and a firm squeeze of Waverly’s ass.

“Damn it…” Very reluctantly, Waverly slid back to her original position on the couch to give them both room to think. “Okay, spill. What’s wrong?”

“You know that dancing has always been the one thing I’ve wanted to do in my life, right?”

“Yes.”

“My gran always told me to go after what I wanted and I did. Thing is, the thing I want to do most in my life now, is you,” she blushed, realising what she’d said as Waverly grinned at her. “Okay, that didn’t come out quite right. But it’s true. The thought of going on the road. On dancing in front of thousands each night. That used to be all I wanted… It’s actually kind of addicting… performing like that. But…”

“But?” Waverly queried as Nicole fell silent.

“Since I met you… Since this,” she waved a hand around, encompassing their time together with a gesture. “The thought of leaving you behind… It hurts,” she admitted, tears stinging her eyes.

“It hurts me too, Nicole. I don’t want to be the thing that comes between you and dancing though, baby. I don’t want to be the cause of any regrets.”

“I would regret leaving you.”

“Nic…”

“No. Hear me out, please?”

Taking Nicole’s hand, Waverly gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Go on.”

“I know I’ve taken you away from your job but… do you think Shorty would be willing to let you come on tour with us… just for a while. The next leg is in Europe. You already know just how terrible time together can be on the road but you could continue your studies, maybe visit some of the museums or historical places in Rome, Paris, Greece, Lon—”

Placing her hand over Nicole’s mouth, Waverly stilled her words. “That all sounds amazing, Nicole. I’ve always wanted to visit those places but… We could stay in some seedy as hell motel in a creepy ass town right out of a horror movie and I would be fine with it just as long as I was with you. Though don’t test me on that ‘cause I really don’t want to end up hanging from some cannibals ceiling like a meat ornament.”

“That’s oddly specific,” Nicole mumbled into the warmth of Waverly’s palm. “Does that mean you will come though?” She asked hopefully.

“Yes,” Waverly grinned, “yes it does!”

 


	14. Chapter 14

Nicole smiled in quiet satisfaction as she opened her eyes and sleepily took in the always beautiful sight of Waverly Earp lying beside her. Her silky hair was a riotous tumble of sun-kissed curls that fell across her shoulder and lay pooled upon the pillow. Reaching up, Nicole tenderly brushed a length of it back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. A soft murmured sigh from softly parted lips followed as Nicole ran her fingers down along Waverly’s shoulder and arm until Waverly’s fingers caught and twined with hers upon the pillow next to her head to willingly endure the string of tender kisses Waverly lay upon them.

Smiling at Waverly’s determination not to open her eyes until she was good and ready, and really, after the long assed flight to get to Greece followed by a night-time boat trip, Nicole couldn’t blame her and simply settled down and watched as the newness of everything sank in.

And she saw up close as it did.

The quiet sounds of village life drifted from below on a warm breeze that flowed through the open window to tease at her ears with the strangeness of words spoken in a foreign tongue. With it came the scent of baked goods and coffee from the small shops and cafes as well as fresh herbs and flowers that grew tamed upon sun-warmed window ledges and balconies and wild where seeds had fallen and been allowed to flourish.

A shift in the breeze brought with it the sound of rigging slapping against masts, the distant hush of waves breaking upon the shore and the scent of salt.

Tours were busy affairs full of rehearsals and journeying from one place to another until airports and arenas all blended into one. Nicole knew that Waverly was aware of that and prepared for it as best as she could be, but once she had heard that Waverly had never even seen the sea, Nicole knew that more than anything, she wanted to ease her into tour life with a treat.

“I’m not dreaming am I?”

Nicole smiled even more at the crinkle between Waverly’s brows as she mumbled against the back of her hand and determinedly kept her eyes shut as though afraid that opening them would make everything vanish.

“If you’re asking if we really are in Greece right now then I would have to say nope, you’re not dreaming.”

She laughed as Waverly went from sleepy to bounding out of the bed in less than a split second, kicking aside the blanket she had insisted that she needed despite the heat. Propping herself up on her elbow, she watched as Waverly flung open the net curtains and the window, the morning sun created a golden glow around her body as she leaned out to take in huge lungfuls of the salt-laden, Mediterranean air.

Racing back to the bed, Waverly grabbed and pulled Nicole’s hands, urging her to join her at the window so she could see it all with her.

They had arrived so late that the small town beyond the harbour was barely lit but what she had seen then of the simplicity and quiet had enchanted Waverly in the way that no bustling, tourist trap full of bars and drunken idiots could have.

Now, with the full light of day upon it and Nicole’s strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, Waverly was even more enchanted as they looked out of their window at the slice of Greek life they could see playing out below the perfect blue sky.

“Have you ever been here before?” Waverly asked quietly as she leaned back into the solid warmth of Nicole’s body, arching into the feel of soft lips as they teased a path down the side of her neck.

“Greece, yes. A couple of years ago with Shae for a small tour. To this island… no. This is just for us.”

Waverly smiled happily at the thought. Anywhere would have been perfect, but that Nicole wanted to explore somewhere new just with her made her feel special in a way she never had before. “It’s perfect. Oh! And I looked this place up… there are some amazing historical ruins to visit up in the hills! And there are glass bottom boat trips out to see a site out beyond the harbour where they found a sunken village… The sea is so clear you can see it all!”

Nicole smiled as Waverly reeled off a list of all the things they could do and places they could visit, her enthusiasm showing in the wild gestures of her hands.

Biting her lip, Waverly trailed off as she realised just how much she had been rambling. “I mean, we don’t have to do any of that if you just want to relax.”

“Waves… trust me,” spinning Waverly around in her arms, Nicole gently lifted her head, urging her to meet her eyes so she could see the truth in them. “I want to do all that with you. I love how passionate you get about everything. You bring it all to life and I never want you to think you need to hold back, ‘kay?”

Smiling as Waverly’s body relaxed into hers, Nicole turned her back around so they could gaze back out of the window. She chuckled into Waverly’s shoulder as an elderly woman clad in traditional garb across the street at a small café, wiped her hands off upon her apron before giving a young teenager a clip upon his shoulder that barely even touched him and a stern talking to that, despite the language barrier, Nicole could tell was full of fondness. He kissed her plump cheek in apology for the freshly baked bread roll he had obviously pilfered and listened to her some more before. The woman tousled his dark hair and nodded across the street. Nodding furiously, he looked up, a wide, beaming smile spread across his face as he caught sight of them as he trotting across the street to stand where he could see them better.

He waved and called up to them but before Nicole could scrape through her limited understanding of the memory for the correct phrase to ask if he spoke English, Waverly had launched into a full on conversation with him in what, to her, sounded like perfect Greek. It delighted the young man and left Nicole staring at her girlfriend with her jaw flapping open.

“How?”

“I looked up a few phrases while you were catching a nap on the flight,” Waverly shrugged shyly. She had always loved learning new languages but had never thought she would be able to put any of them to use. And now, thanks to Nicole, she was getting the chance to explore her passion for languages for and history at the same time. “Petros says that his grandmother owns this place,” she swept a hand around to indicate where they were staying, “and they want to know if we would like to join them for breakfast or if we have plans?”

“Breakfast with them sounds perfect. Maybe you could pick their brains for anywhere they think we should visit… As long as you include the beach one day,” she whispered against Waverly’s ear, “I’m really looking forward to getting you… wet,” she nuzzled with nose and lips as she purred the word.

“You already have,” Waverly whispered back. Gently removing Nicole’s arms from around her waist, she shooed her back, ignoring the unrepentant grin on her perfect face as she called down to Petros to let him know their plans.

Waverly stood there a while longer, just absorbing everything she could. She was eager to get out and explore all the narrow paths between the pretty painted houses that climbed up from the harbour. Excited to actually feel sand between her toes and swim in the gorgeous blue of the sea. She wanted to feel the history of the place and imagine the people that had wondered the hills and worked the land.

Most of all though, she wanted to do it all with Nicole.

Letting the thin, lace curtains fall back into place, Waverly turned to find Nicole sprawled enticingly face down across the bed watching her with the softest of dimpled smiles on her face and pure love shining out of her eyes.

“If you keep looking at me like that we’ll never get to have breakfast.” Despite her words and Nicole’s feigned innocence, Waverly couldn’t resist climbing back onto the bed just for a moment longer so she could savour the feel of Nicole against her and the caress of her lips against her own before they left the isolation of their rooms to be amongst people that might not be as kind or understanding of their love.

“Want to save on water and take a shower with me?” Nicole asked hopefully.

“I don’t know… can you behave long enough to actually shower?”

“Hmm,” Nicole pretended to think about it. “Highly unlikely.”

Waverly couldn’t help but smile as Nicole’s expression went from serious to a beaming grin that lit her face and the room. She snuggled closer, running the palm of her hand all the way down Nicole’s spine, delighting in the sensuous play of muscles beneath her touch as Nicole’s writhed slowly with a soft moan that had Waverly’s mind dropping straight into the gutter where she remembered all too clearly the way it felt to be beneath Nicole when she moved like that and all the sounds she could wring from her when she dug her fingers into her back… of course, it wasn’t much of a drop to the gutter as that had happened only hours before despite a hellishly long flight and night-time boat trip.

Pushing Nicole’s shirt up and off out of her way, Waverly slid over, settling her weight against Nicole’s body as she rained down lazy kisses upon all the pale, exposed skin before her. Every ragged, hitched breath Nicole dragged into her lungs had her back expanding, muscles dancing beneath soft, warm skin. Not content with just kissing, Waverly painted a trail down her spine, lapping at the slight saltiness of Nicole’s skin, interspacing licks and kisses with dragged bites that had Nicole arching and grabbing onto the sheets beneath her with desperate hands. Her thick moans reached a whole other level as Waverly paid loving attention to the small of her back and the dimples either side as she eased down Nicole’s ridiculously skimp, pale blue, sleep shorts.

Waverly murmured appreciatively, her mouth watering as she gazed upon the generous curve of Nicole’s ass laid bare before her and caressed them with her hands, testing the firmness of them. Not even the threat of a possibly dislocated jaw if Nicole flexed was enough to resist the temptation and she sank her teeth into one side then the other, growling as she closed her teeth slowly but firmly until she got a moan out of Nicole that was part gasp, whimper and moan that had Waverly deciding that she would have to revisit that more often when she had more time, especially with how Nicole had lifted her hips and arched back into her.

Right then though, they had breakfast to eat and a whole island to explore and a limited amount of days to do so. Exploring each other… well, they had the nights there for that and a lifetime of days and nights afterwards.

Waverly thrilled at the thought and nervously hoped that Nicole felt the same way.

Hiding the nervousness, she quickly threw off her own clothing and slivered back up the length of Nicole’s body, pressing herself tightly to all the dips and curves, shivering as her abdomen came into delicious contact with the curve of Nicole’s ass in a way that had heat pooling within her. Arching into her, Waverly brushed aside the fine swath of Nicole’s hair, her eyes following the cascade of red hair as it exposed the nape of her slender neck and the delicate shell of her ear to her lips.

Nicole was moments away from rolling and flipping Waverly to gain the upper hand several times but Waverly’s lips kept doing amazing things that kept her distracted and helpless to do more than writhe beneath her. Which wasn’t a bad thing as she felt _amazing_ but Nicole wanted desperately to return Waverly’s touch.

“Waves…”

“As much as I’m enjoying this,” Waverly nipped at the crook of Nicole’s neck, rendering speechless. “Race you to the shower!”

Nicole gawped in amazement as Waverly suddenly hopped up from the bed, laid a stinging slap on her right ass cheek, and sprinted for the bathroom so fast that Nicole was left with the lingering impression of a cheeky giggle, a lithe and very naked body and a stream of long hair.

“Waverly Earp, you minx!” Nicole chuckled as she scrambled off the bed and stalked through to the bathroom. Waverly’s eyes were fixed on her, her expression one of hunger as they raked over her body. Nicole backed her up towards the shower, delighting in the way her teeth caught at her lip as she leaned closer. She could see the anticipation in her eyes and just knew that her mind was busy running through all the ways she could take her ‘revenge’.

And Nicole had plans alright…

Reaching over Waverly’s shoulder, Nicole turned the shower on, making Waverly jump delightfully.

“Expecting something different, baby?” Nicole purred.

“Maybe,” Waverly admitted. She could feel her body trembling still, anticipating Nicole’s passionate response to her teasing. But, apart from the heat of her gloriously naked body pressing against her, Nicole was holding herself under a tight rein that was betrayed by the smouldering intensity of her gaze and the enticing scent of her arousal caught in the steam rising from the shower.

“I know you’re looking forward to exploring the island today… But… while we do,” she let her eyes wander down the sweet curves of Waverly’s body, her fingers raising goose-bumps as they trailed in their wake. “I want you to think about _all_ the ways I’m going to explore your body tonight,” she husked against Waverly’s ear. “I want you to ache thinking about all the ways I’m going to take you over and over until you can’t even remember your own name.”

Waverly nearly forgot it right there and then as Nicole’s huskily purred words reached deep inside and turned her bones molten in a rush of desire that left her clutching at Nicole’s body to keep herself upright. She gasped and wrapped her legs instinctively around Nicole’s trim waist as her wicked lover lifted her up into her arms and stepped into the shower. Warm water beat against her back, sparking off skin that felt too sensitive and swollen to contain everything boiling within her.

She felt wildly out of control, undone by the teasing she had done to Nicole’s, and Nicole’s promises for later. Not even the thought of the time limit upon them by breakfast quelled the overwhelming need for Nicole that had her grinding against her, her body sliding deliciously on the water pouring between them as she pressed her core against the muscles of Nicole’s abdomen that were tense from trying to hold them both upright.

“Hey, calm down baby,” Nicole chuckled as she tried to adjust her grip on Waverly’s writhing body. A gasp flew from her mouth as strong fingers tangled with the damp strands of her hair and pulled, yanking her head up to meet the desperate fire burning in Waverly’s eyes.

Nicole opened her mouth to try and talk Waverly down slightly but a harsh pinch of her nipple had her sucking in air between clenched teeth. “Waverly…”

“Nicole… please. I need you.” Nicole wasn’t a cruel person but for the longest couple of seconds in her life, Waverly wondered if she would refuse her plea to continue the torment to its conclusion that night. A thought that touched a dark part inside of Waverly’s mind and made her wonder how much she would be able to stand. But, thankfully, blessedly, Nicole gave a nod and Waverly saw her eyes grow impossibly dark as she loosened all the control she had placed upon herself.

Catching Waverly’s mouth in a deeply passionate kiss, Nicole pressed her back against the cold wet tiles, capturing and swallowing her moan as she unwound her legs and let Waverly’s body glide down to the floor. Breaking reluctantly away from their kiss, she quickly turned off the water before returning to drown in the hunger of Waverly’s mouth and the drag of thankfully blunt nails as they raked down her back and ass. She matched the passion burning within Waverly, eagerly letting it consume them both as their tongues and bodies slid together and teeth and fingers dug in.

It was too hot and burning, leaving no room for further foreplay.

Their bodies pressed together, Nicole slid down to her knees before Waverly. She felt and heard Waverly’s breath catch in anticipation. Felt the eagerness trembling in her body as her legs parted to make room at the gentle but insistent touch of her hands. And she saw the wonder and fire burning down at her from hazel eyes. Felt the tug upon her hair and the curl of fingers upon her scalp as Waverly’s hand pressed her closer and closer.

Then all there was, was the explosion of taste upon her tongue. Slick and hot. Coating her tongue and mouth as she probed and licked between swollen folds.

The room filled with the sounds of their passion. Wet and slick, almost obscene sounds as she sucked and slurped upon Waverly’s body. The harsher cries falling from Waverly’s mouth as she climbed higher and higher at her urgings drowning out the thick moans from her own busy mouth.

Hearing Waverly reaching a plateau, Nicole turned her attention to the swollen bud of Waverly’s clit. She teased it mercilessly; flicking all around with the tip of her tongue, lathing gently, building Waverly higher and higher until she begged for more.

Nicole gave it to her eagerly.

Sliding two fingers through desire soaked folds, she heard Waverly’s impassioned, eager moan as she teased and probed at her entrance, spreading her gently, easing the way before sliding them inside.

She was so tight. So hot and wet. Her body clenching and squeezing around her fingers as Nicole moved them in and out, thrusting harder and deeper, curling them against her front wall as a litany of praise and cusses fell around her.

“Nicole. Want. Ahhhh. Shit! Yes! Like that! Want you to come with me!”

Moaning against her, Nicole allowed her left hand to drop down between her own thighs. The wetness that greeted her own fingers made her moan further. The eager tenderness as her fingers grazed across her neglected clit made her hips jump as her body rushed towards orgasm.

Waverly cried out harshly, her head rolling against the tiles at her back as Nicole closed her mouth around her clit and sucked harder than before. The thrust and pull of her fingers stroking and hitting all the right places had her blood throbbing through her veins to the same beat, rushing irrevocably higher and higher. Dragging her head down, she gazed almost drunkenly at Nicole, taking in the look of utter bliss upon what she could see of her face as she was buried between her thighs; sweat and water was beaded across her forehead, something much slicker smeared across her cheeks that would have made Waverly blush if she’d had the strength and the sudden desire to see Nicole coated in her arousal.

Tightening her hand in Nicole’s hair, she pushed her closer. Blown, brown eyes flickered open to meet her gaze and Waverly felt Nicole quicken the pace of her licking and sucking and the thrusting of fingers between both their thighs.

Suddenly she was there…

A startled cry, a scream that was wrenched from her mouth as one slammed into and surrounded her clit and spread up across her abdomen and spine, bursting outwards in all direction.

Then…

Falling…

Her world going white as she tumbled into Nicole’s waiting arms, her body wracked by bone shaking spasms.

Floating…

Waverly lifted her head from Nicole’s shoulder, fingers shaking… hell, her whole body was trembling and twitching, pressed Nicole’s where she collapsed, kneeling, straddled across her thighs. She pushed her hair back from where it had fallen into her face. Seeing the far too pleased and slightly dopey grin on Nicole’s face as she repeated the motion for her, Waverly poked her in the side and broke into a fit of post-sex giggles as they struggled to get their feet back under them.

Unwilling to part, they propped each other up, whispering loving words against each other’s skin, sharing lingering touches and kisses as they finally turned the water back on and showered.

Waverly felt a momentary flare of disappointment as Nicole handed her a towel and took one for herself but it was washed away by the heat in Nicole’s gaze and her shakily rasped admission that she didn’t trust herself right then.

The words and husky cadence of Nicole’s voice had a familiar rush of heat rising through Waverly just as strong as though she just hadn’t had an out-of-body, mind-altering orgasm minutes before. But, apparently refusing to be denied any longer, her stomach chose that moment to let out a ferocious growl that had the both giggling again.

Somehow they managed to get dressed, Nicole helping by gently drying her hair and quickly working the long lengths of it into a simple braid that helped to keep the thickness of it from getting in the way and keeping her cool.

Petros was waiting for them, eager to escort them across the street and introduce them to her grandmother and everyone else who welcomed them with open hearts more like they were family than simply tourists.

Nicole sat back in her chair, sipping at the remains of her coffee and savouring the breeze blowing in off the sea, bringing with it the tang and sounds of the sea. At the table next to her, two elderly men having what seemed to be a friendly but heated discussion about the game of dominoes they were playing until Petros grandmother flicked at them in passing with a towel she seemed to carry just for that reason. Satisfied that they had settled, she moved closer and asked in stilted English if she wanted any more coffee, her face broke into a beaming smile as Nicole managed to drag out the proper phrase in Greek to accept… either that or she had said something hilarious. Nicole would have checked in with Waverly but her girlfriend had become engrossed in a conversation, in perfect Greek… How in the hell had she learned so much just on the flight!?

“Hey, cutie!”

Nicole arched into the touch of Waverly’s hands upon her shoulders and her soft kiss upon her cheek as Waverly slid into the seat beside her.

She had worried that they might have to hide their relationship once they were out and about, and they still might, but right there, they were in a safe place… As proved by Petros’ grandmother had shown them a photograph of herself with another woman and Petros had explained that they were together and while they couldn’t legally marry they had, with the blessing of their local church, had had a commitment ceremony and called themselves wives.

And the two elderly bickering gentlemen… they had been next in line for their own ceremony.

“Have you picked out where you want to go first?”

“Petros…” Waverly paused, smiling in gratitude as the boy placed drinks of coffee and a platter of sweet treats before them. “Mmmm, thank you, Petros.” Selecting a melomakarona cookie from the platter, she murmured in pleasure at the taste of honey, spices and walnuts. “What?” Waverly smirked knowingly at the wide-eyed, jaw dropped expression on Nicole’s face. Licking her fingers, she winked at Nicole as she moaned.

“Petros?” Nicole somehow managed to squeak out in an effort to get her far too distracting girlfriend back on track.

“Oh yes! Petros has offered to show us some ruins that he says are better than the main tourist ones. They’re a little more secluded and there is shade there away from the heat where we could have a picnic. And… there’s a secluded beach not far from them too.”

Waverly’s enthusiasm as she talked about the place was infectious and it wasn’t long before they were following Petros through the narrow, winding streets up into the hills on scooters packed with a picnic, courtesy of his grandmother, that was surely big enough for ten people.

Baked by the heat of the Mediterranean sun, the landscape was beautiful but craggy and almost alien. Far removed from what Waverly was used to seeing. There was a feeling of home there though but Waverly knew that that feeling was of who she was with and not where she was as she had felt the same way at the mansion in Toronto.

Nicole was home.

As Petros pulled up on his scooter… a scooter Waverly was entirely sure he was old enough to ride even though everyone had seemed perfectly okay with it… they pulled up beside him and turned off their engines.

“Come,” he beamed happily. “They are a short walk his way.”

Giving Nicole a small shrug, Waverly set off after Petros through the fragrant shrubs and brightly coloured flowers that grew wild there.

She had feared a long trek despite Petros’ assurance of it being a short walk but not more than a minute later, Waverly’s feet froze, her eyes widening in wonder as she gazed around at what lay before them.

Everywhere before had been barren, low shrubs and trees. There… they were in almost a hollow in the landscape and the low shrubs on the edge provided shelter from the sun for what seemed like a ridiculously pristine shrine… an oasis of calm littered with towering columns and statues.

“Oh. My. God.”

Nicole was stunned by the beauty of the place as Petros showed them around. But, as he told tale after tale about all the statues and the gods they represented, Nicole found herself watching Waverly more. Watching how absorbed she became in the history of the place, her body shining with the joy of it all.

But not so absorbed that she didn’t reach for her almost instinctively. Her fingers entwining with hers, pulling her closer so she could hold her and share her enthusiasm.

As they took a break and sat at the feet of one of the statues, Waverly gazed shyly at Nicole, taking in the fine lines of her jaw and cheekbones as she tilted her head back to watch as tiny songbirds flitted about high in the brilliant blue sky above them.

“Gosh, you must be so bored with all this,” she grimaced slightly in realisation as to just how long they had been there.

Nicole tilted her sunglasses down and turned her head to look at Waverly better. The sight of the self-depreciating grimace on her face had her reaching out to brush it away with gentle caresses of the pads of her thumbs. “Hey, you listen to me, Waverly Earp. I love being with you and I am in no way, shape or form, bored with any of this. I love the joy this brings you.”

“So you won’t mind when I drag you to all the museums in every country we visit?”

“Nope… as long as we can get some ice cream every now and then,” she teased softly. “There’s a little place in London, hopefully, it’s still going. It sells some of the best vegan ice cream you will _ever_ put in your mouth.”

Looking at Nicole, Waverly couldn’t help but think that there was something sweeter sitting right beside her that she wanted to taste… and she leaned closer to do just that, her eyes flitting between Nicole’s plump lips and the hunger building in her eyes but, thankfully, Petros wasn’t light on his feet and they heard him crashing back through the shrubs to join them.

Before they left, Nicole took advantage of the beauty before her and snapped a couple of photos of Waverly as she took one last look around… she even made sure to get some of the statues and ruins into frame too after Waverly took a glance over her shoulder at what she had taken and arched a fine brow at her.

The ride down to the secluded beach was, to say the least… interesting. In a downright terrifying way as they navigated the narrow path. Though calling it a path was being generous as Nicole was convinced that only the hardiest and most foolish of rabbits had attempted it and she was pretty sure she had seen a pile of bones from one that hadn’t made it.

Once they were there though it was more than worth the grey hairs Nicole was pretty sure she would see when she looked in the mirror.

The beach was gorgeous, all unspoiled white sand set in a bay, huddled within a curve of protective rocks and sheltered from the approach from the sea by rocks that lurked further out. Petros had already explained that there were bigger beaches, maybe even prettier, but they were usually full of tourists and people coming off boats as they sailed by. This one… this one was for family.

With a promise to get them before it got dark, he walked away, a song on his lips as he slung a fishing rod over his shoulder and made his way further down the beach to give them privacy.

Nicole had thought that the ruins had enraptured Waverly but as she turned she saw the childlike wonder in her eyes as she stood there, gazing out across the water, her toes not quite touching the sand as though she was almost afraid that it would all vanish.

“Want to sit for a while or go for a paddle in the sea first?”

“We can do that?”

“Baby, we can do anything you want,” Nicole smiled reassuringly as she held out a hand invitingly.

Waverly slid her hand into the familiar, loving grip of Nicole’s, the gentle squeeze of her fingers reassuring her. Biting her lip, she removed her shoes and took her first ever step out into the sand. Not that sand was new, she’d felt it under her feet at the ‘beaches’ around the lakes and when she was younger she had even pretended that the builders sand at a friend’s house was the same but this was so very different.

Soft and warm, it tickled up the sides of her feet and between her toes as she wiggled them into it. Laughing, she twirled in Nicole’s arms until she was almost giddy. Still laughing, she rested her hands upon Nicole’s shoulders as she leaned into the curve of her body. They moved together, heads tilting and angling just so with the same goal in mind and Waverly claimed another first… her first kiss on a beach.

Laughter filled the air, mingling with the ever-present love and arousal they felt as they propped each other up in the soft sand and stripped down to the bikinis they’d put on underneath their clothing. Hand in hand they made their way down towards the sea.

The water shimmered and danced in the sunlight that glinted off the surface in sparks of blue and white. It looked so calm from a distance but as they neared it, Waverly was almost shocked by the rushing, tumbling noise as the waves, as small as they were, met the sand, rendering it darker and firmer to walk upon.

One of the small waves kissed the tips of her toes and she watched, almost mesmerised, as it flowed back out again. She followed, stepping forward so that the next on came further up.

“Do you want to swim?”

“Will you be with me?”

“As long as you want me, I’ll be right by your side.”

Waverly felt Nicole’s words and the depth of her gaze hit deeply, meaning far more than just at that moment. She felt safe, secure, loved. “Yeah?”

“Always,” Nicole promised sincerely.

The sea spread before them, vast and intimidating. But Waverly felt only the peace that came with Nicole’s grounding presence as they waded deeper and deeper into the surprisingly cold water until her feet slipped away from the sand.

“Waves?” The suddenly mischievous look in Waverly’s eyes should have been warning enough but Nicole was still left surprised by the wave of water that splashed over her head and left her spluttering. Waverly was an excellent swimmer, she had proved that time and again at the pool at the mansion, but Nicole was still left blinking as she wiped her eyes clear and watched Waverly diving nimbly beneath the water with a grace that really shouldn’t be allowed. Neither should her agility beneath the waves as she brushed and curled around her in a graceful spiral that ended with her rising up against her body, her cool, salty lips finding hers as they sank down together.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life on the road gets underway with some Earp sisters moments and a dash of Wayhaught.

“Well! Well! Look who's finally crawled out of their love nest to join the rest of the world!”

Waverly rolled her eyes in good-natured exasperation at Wynonna’s exuberant greeting. She managed to hold her stern expression for all of five seconds, just long enough to make Wynonna’s gaze shift nervously, before she grinned and launched herself at her sister to hug her just as tightly as she could.

She breathed in the scent of her, letting out a huff and giggle as Wynonna’s wild mane of hair tickled her face as it always did. She wouldn’t trade one second she’d spent with Nicole but she had to admit that she had missed her sister a _hell_ of a lot.

“God, I’ve missed you,” she mumbled against her shoulder.

“Hey, don’t go getting all sappy on me… But yeah, missed you too.” Grinning wildly, Wynonna ruffled the silken strands of her sisters hair as they sat down in the quiet backstage area her little sister seemed to have claimed for what Waverly would no doubt claim was ‘light’ reading but Wynonna couldn’t even decipher what the title of the weighty tome making the table creak and groan was.

“Well you’re all glowing and shit and looking not at all rested so I take it you and Haughtstuff had a good time bangin’ all over the wherever the hell it was you two scarpered off too?” She waggled her eyebrows, smirking to herself as Waverly coloured just a little.

“One, if you hadn’t been too busy bangin’ with Doc and Mercedes all over the mansion you would have known where we were. Two, the island was so beautiful ‘Nonna, I’ve never knew the sea could be so blue… And yeah,” she took a quick glance around to make sure no one would overhear, “the bangin’ was amazing!”

Wynonna rolled her eyes at the blissed-out look that crossed over Waverly’s face. Seriously, if she had an orgasm just from thinking about it, she was never going to speak to her again… or let her live it down.

“Do you want to see some pictures?” Waverly took her phone out of her pocket and started to search through for the pictures she and Nicole had taken and shared with each other.

“Of all the bangin’? Geeze! Even I have boundaries, Babygirl!”

“What? No! ‘Nonna!” Blushing furiously at Wynonna’s positively filthy chortle, Waverly slapped at Wynonna’s shoulder and handed her the phone so she could start flicking through the photos. “All of ‘those’ photos are safely where no one can get them. At least I think all of them are,” she giggled as Wynonna juggled the phone at her teasing.

Wynonna flashed Waverly a soft glower and went back to looking through the photos with only a small amount of trepidation at the thought of swiping to the next and finding a nude. That her sister had had a good time, and not only between the sheets with her hot redhead was more than obvious by the joyous smile beaming from every shot.

Photographs in their family were a rarity even before their mother had left. To the point that Waverly usually shied away when a camera was pointed her way as though she was afraid it was going to steal her soul. Nicole though had managed to capture Waverly with ease with the only risqué shot being one of Waverly framed before a window, her body, thankfully covered by the ridiculously flimsy nightwear she favoured, the picture made soft and hazy by the thin fabric of curtains and the sun filtering through the window.

Turning the smartphone, Wynonna arched her brow over the top of it and made a disapproving humming sound.

“What? There’s nothing wrong with that. Now what we’d been doing before that was taken…”

“Waverly!” Wynonna chuckled at Waverly’s impish grin and pulled her into a quick hug. “I’m glad she makes you so happy.”

“She’s amazing,” Waverly sighed happily. “Everything still good with you and… what are you calling it between the three of you anyway?”

“It’s just fun, Babygirl. Doesn’t have to be anything more than that, does it?” Going by Waverly’s expression she was buying it just as much as she did herself.

Wynonna had spent her life playing fast and loose with relationships, not daring to settle after witnessing the utter balls up of a job her parents had made of things and now… Well, she wasn’t too sure what love even was, the romantic kind that was. When it came to the love of her sister, Wynonna knew she had that always no matter how often she balls things up. But the romantic love… right then she was just about as close to it as she had ever been but being Wynonna Earp, she couldn’t do it the easy way… ohhh no… instead of one, she’d fallen for two people at the same time. Two people that seemed to live by the same fast and loose rules as she did and if she was forced to pick one over the other that was just impossible as they were all entwined within her.

She just didn’t know if they felt anything beyond the enjoying the now.

Waverly frowned as Wynonna gave a sad little sigh before fixing a grin back on her face that stated clearly that any probing questions would get deflected without the aid of an insane and quite possibly life-threatening amount of tequila shots. And even that was just as likely to make her clam up and become more taciturn when it came to any subject that was really troubling her.

Rather than push against her sister’s stubborn streak, Waverly took back her phone and brought up a video, handing it back for her to see. “Don’t worry, nothing kinky,” she rolled her eyes at the questioning quirk of Wynonna’s eyebrows. “The second night there we got invited to a wedding in the village,” she explained.

“Wait, you didn’t get caught up in the moment and get hitched without me there, did you?”

“No,” Waverly nudged Wynonna’s shoulder. “We didn’t get drunk and do a Vegas.”

“Probably a good thing with Haught… Not the getting married part, the drunk. Can’t see her as anything other than a hot mess with too much booze in her. Hmm…”

“Wynonna! No!” Waverly growled out, her eyes narrowing in warning.

“What?!”

“I know that look! You are not to take Nicole out just to get her drunk! You hear me?”

“Fine. Spoilsport,” Wynonna mock-pouted, throwing up her hands in surrender at Waverly just narrowed her eyes even more dangerously at her. Geeze, her tiny amazon sister could be downright intimidating at times! “You were saying about the wedding?”

“Oh yeah!”

Wynonna breathed a sigh of relief at Waverly broke into a smile again.

“It was beautiful, all traditional but informal and everyone was so friendly. And they insisted that we dance with them.”

“I take it they didn’t know they had a ringer in their midst?”

“Not until I told them,” Waverly giggled. Leaning over Wynonna’s shoulder, she watched the video. The music pumping out of the tiny speakers as a tiny but perfect image of Nicole danced and laughed with the locals, embroiled in a friendly competition, whisked her back to that night, all the sights and smells, all the friends they had made.

“Any footage of you twirling around?”

“Next video,” Waverly blushed at the memory of how clumsy she had felt when she had first tried it compared to Nicole who was able to watch them do something once and then pick it up almost flawlessly. They had all been so patient and kind that she had even enjoyed the stumbling around but only when she was in Nicole’s arms with her body as a guide did it seem to come easily.

“Damn, Babygirl!”

“What?” Waverly was halfway through a wince before she remembered that it wasn’t Champ putting her down or Stephanie Jones berating her when she had first joined the Purgatory High cheerleading squad and Steph was captain, and she also heard Wynonna’s impressed whistle.

“I was out here for months and never managed to pick up the dancing like that. Granted, the booze could have had something to do with that but… even so, I’m impressed.”

“I had a good teacher.”

“Uhuh, I just bet you did.”

“Hey, you never told me when finally came home, which island was it you visited out here?”

Wynonna opened and closed her mouth a couple of times while she debated if she should lie. Though it wasn’t like her baby sister didn’t know now just how flexible she was when it came to sex and genders now… Nicole walking in on her being banged by John Henry while her head was between Mercedes’ legs had erased any doubt on her sexual flexibility. But… she just _knew_ Waverly would make something of it because she herself wouldn’t be able to resist if their roles were reversed.

“Lesbos,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Ohhhh,” Waverly hid her smirk at Wynonna’s obvious discomfort. “So, was that where you and Valdez met?”

“Maybe.”

“Is that a maybe yes or maybe no?”

“Okay, yes, I met Valdez on Lesbos and she banged me into oblivion with her superhuman prowess with a strap-on!”

A startled, squeaked, ‘meep’ and the thud of a body tripping over itself alerted Wynonna to the fact that she should really have been paying more attention to her surroundings and the glint in Waverly’s eyes. Spinning, she caught of glimpse of the white of Jeremy’s eyes, which were glaringly obvious as they were open wider than she’d ever seen anyone’s eyes get, and then he was vanishing around the corner so fast Wynonna wondered if she hadn’t dreamt him up in the first place.

“I think you traumatised him,” Waverly giggled.

“That was totally your fault! God, now he’s never going to be able to look me in the eye again.” Which was not necessarily a bad thing. Jeremy was a good kid but his almost constant nervousness around her just brought out the worst of her teasing side… which Doc had admonished her for twice already just that morning.

“I know that look, Wynonna, leave Jeremy alone, he was only stopping by to help me get my laptop hooked up.” She chuckled as she saw Jeremy peek back around the corner he had vanished around with the same wide-eyed look on his face.

“Always sticking up for the other big brains. How are the classes coming along anyway?”

“Good.”

“Just good?” Wynonna raised her brow knowingly, easily able to read the joy bubbling just beneath the surface by the excited jiggle of Waverly’s body.

“Okay, better than good. I’m loving it so much! I’d forgotten how much I enjoy learning new things like this.”

“Hmm.”

“What was that ‘hmm’ for?”

“Just your holiday with Nicole suddenly gave me flashbacks of you watching Champ play video games and missing your valedictorian speech.”

“He got to level 70 on one guy.” And she had no idea why she was defending what she knew had been an unusually dumb move in an otherwise bookwormish and over-the-top scholarly school life and all thanks to Champ pulling an ‘if you love me you’ll stay’ card on her. “Besides, this was different, okay? I’m on top of the coursework.”

“Even with all the redhead bangin’?”

“I really wish you would stop saying bangin’.”

“I’m sure I could think of other terms if you would rather…”

Waverly quickly covered Wynonna’s mouth, muffling her just enough so she could barely make out the words tacos and clam muttered against her palm as her blue eyes glinted wickedly from above. “Okay, okay, bangin’ is good. And to answer, I made sure that I was on top of the coursework before we left and I checked every day to make sure nothing came up. Nicole has been very supportive with this, ‘Nonna. Hell, she encouraged me to take it on in the first place.”

Rolling her eyes at the heart-eyes going on, Wynonna licked the palm of Waverly’s hand to encourage her to remove it.

“’Nonna! Gross!” Waverly grimaced and shook her hand.

“Says the woman that licks—”

“Don’t even finish that,” Waverly warned softly, clasping her hand on Wynonna’s shoulder and surreptitiously wiping it clear of sister slobber on her top. “Hey are you with us for the whole of this leg of the tour?”

“No can do, Babygirl,” Wynonna lamented. “Just got the next couple of weeks free and then I need to get back to rounding up bad guys.” And until then she refused to think about how much it would hurt to leave Doc and Mercedes as well as her baby sister. At least Waverly would come home… unless she decided to just run off with Nicole to god knows where the redhead vanished too next. Doc and Mercedes were even more nomadic as Doc was Shae’s head of security and Mercedes was always off looking for new business ventures or something.

“You’ve got something on your mind again, ‘Nonna.”

“Me? Naw, I’m good. I’m the queen of good,” she snorted dismissively, waving a hand around carelessly as she rose to her feet before tucking it in against her body to join her other, hoping it didn’t look too much like the self-hug that it was.

“Well, your majesty, when you feel you need to talk about what’s got you sighing… I’m here for you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” softening the almost dismissive tone of her voice, Wynonna bent down to wrap Waverly up in a side hug and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Sorry. I’ not the best at confronting my feelings head on but, I know you’ve got my back and if… when I need to talk I know where to come.”

“You better. Now, go. I want to find Jeremy so I can get working on my courses and he’s not going to want to come close if you’re still around giving him dirty looks.”

“Fine! I’ll leave you to be all perfect and brainy! Hey, any chance we can meet up later to catch up on the non-bangin’ stuff?”

“Always… well, within reason.”

“Ew,” Wynonna griped at Waverly’s suggestive wink. “Where is Tator-Haught anyway?”

“Rehearsing. They’re having to revamp most of the dances to allow for, well, you know, _losses_.” Even though she hadn’t known the two dancers that had lost their lives as well as some of them, they had been friendly when they had spoken to her and because Nicole had been friends with them, Waverly felt their loss keenly for Nicole and the other dancers. Also, there was a part of her that felt guilt like a stabbing blow to the heart because she had been thankful that the deaths hadn’t been Nicole and that guilt lingered.

“Babygirl?” Tilting Waverly’s chin up, Wynonna frowned at the shame on her little sister’s face and the single tear trembling on her lashes. Crouching down, she pulled Waverly’s chair closer. “Hey, what’s wrong?” she whispered softly, ready to go off and flatten anyone that had that look on her face.

“I- I just feel bad because I was glad that it was them and not Nicole that died,” she whispered shamefully.

“Oh, baby. Hey, there is nothing wrong with feeling like that. You hear me. What you’re feeling is survivor’s guilt and it’s perfectly normal. You think I didn’t feel happy when I found out that Mercedes and Doc weren’t on that coach? ‘Cause I was overjoyed. I bet if you asked Nicole or any of the others they would admit that they feel the same guilt because they’d made it out alive or had been thankful that they hadn’t been on that coach in the first place.”

“I know you’re right—“

“I know you, Babygirl, you probably already googled the hell out of it.”

“Maybe just a little,” Waverly grinned sheepishly. “I still feel guilty though.”

“That’s because you care.” She pressed another kiss to the top of Waverly’s head as she rose to her feet once again. “Now, lunch? Will that be enough time for you to get that brain all stretched out and limber? You can bring Haught-To-Trot if she’s got time.”

“Lunch sounds good. I hear there’s a great market nearby too.”

“Ugh, fine! I’ll be back in a couple of hours. You can come out now, Jeremy!” she bellowed over her shoulder as she saw a mop of dark curls poking tentatively around the corner. “Later, Babygirl.”

Waverly smiled and shook her head fondly as her sister sauntered off with a whistle on her lips. She smiled reassuringly at Jeremy as he dared to step back into view. “Ya know, the best way of dealing with Wynonna is to show no fear. Not like she’s going to bite.”

“I know, I just get all flustered when she looks at me normally and well, I never expected to hear anything like that.”

“Yeah, get used to it Jer, she’s scented blood in the water now so I’d be expecting random dildos to pop up everywhere until she heads home.”

“Oh, jeez,” he paused as he caught a glint of mischief in Waverly’s eyes. “You’re messing with me? Right?”

“Maybe just a little,” Waverly giggled. “But I really wouldn’t put it past her. Now, can you hook me up?” she gestured to her waiting laptop at his bemused look.

“Oh! Yeah, of course! I am a genius, and pretty good with computers too.” Sliding the laptop closer he opened up the settings and hoped he wasn’t about to be proved wrong by the strangely glitchy reception at the arena. “So, what are you working on today?”

“I want to brush up on what’s coming up in my Latin course. Oh, and check out any local breweries for Shorty; he’s interested in expanding his ranges with different recipes. All part of his agreement for letting me take so much time off work.”

“Well,” Jeremy breathed out a sigh of relief as the laptop connected first try. “Sounds like you’re going to be busy and, luckily, this is working,” smiling happily, he spun the laptop around on the desk so it was facing Waverly again.

“Thanks, Jer.”

“Not a problem,” he grinned. “Just let me know if you need anything else.” He was half convinced that his words had fallen on deaf ears as Waverly was tapping away at the keyboard with a fierce look of concentration on her face but she lifted her head and gave him a joyous smile that almost made him stumble and a little wave to go with it.

He was as gay as gay could be, a whole rainbow of gay, and yet both Earp women had a way of flustering him. Though, to be fair, Wynonna’s fluster came about because she scared him with those piercing blue eyes most of the time.

Waverly heard Jeremy’s steps fading away down the corridor, leaving her alone in her little, claimed space but soon she was miles and years away, locked in research and the past to the point that an army or a brass band could have marched by and she wouldn’t have noticed.

She noticed though when a familiar hand came into view and placed a snack bar and a drink within reach but safely away from the laptop. Smiling happily, Waverly straightened up in her chair, wincing slightly at the ache in her neck that said she had been still for hours. Before she could turn around to face Nicole, she felt those hands settle on her shoulders and start up a practised massage that had her going limp and whimpering under the muscle-melting ministrations.

“Oh, god! That feels sooooo good, Nicole! Yeah, right there! Harder!” she moaned deeply as she leaned back into Nicole’s touch and closed her eyes in pleasure.

Nicole swallowed hard as Waverly’s moans of pleasure fell upon her ears and shot straight down through her body to pool as molten heat and need between her thighs. Resisting the urge to spin the chair around or bend Waverly over the desk, she worked diligently, wringing every moan out of her girlfriend as she teased the tightness out of her muscles.

Not that it helped her relaxation any as each moan had her body tightening to breaking point. And the smirk on Waverly’s face as she tilted her head back and gazed up at her while Nicole clutched at the back of the chair and tried to control her laboured breathing said she knew exactly what she did to her.

Waverly’s fingers slid up, finding their home in the short hair at the nape of Nicole’s neck, blunt nails scraping at her flesh just right as they threaded through her hair and tugged her closer. Their kiss was upside down and just a touch awkward until they got used to the angle but it was perfectly imperfect as their lips slid and moulded together, their breath warm as they breathed into each other, tongues probing and gliding, teeth nipping and drawing out soft gasps and panted moans.

As she drew back, her lips returning again and again for another taste, she wished more than anything that they were somewhere else right then so she could be free to explore the heady look in Waverly’s desire darkened eyes, the promise on her kiss-bruised lips. And then there was the tantalising view down Waverly’s scoop-necked top as her breasts heaved up and down with each breath she dragged in.

“Hey, eyes are up here, Nicole.”

Nicole grinned not in the least bit repentantly as she transferred her gaze back up from breasts to lips to Waverly’s twinkling eyes as she turned her chair around. Her breath caught as those eyes filled with mischief and her lip got caught between white teeth as she glanced around. Before Nicole could draw breath to ask what she was thinking, it was stolen again, right along with her ability to think as Waverly’s warm hands blazed a trail along her leggings, moving from the backs of her knees and up until they came to rest and squeezed the particularly sensitive area right at the top of her thighs just below the curve of her ass.

“WayAhhhVerly!”

Nicole clutched at Waverly’s head, her fingers tangling with the long, silken strands of her hair as Waverly leaned into her and ran her lips and the tip of her tongue across the sensitive flesh of her lower abdomen right where the waistband of her leggings ended.

The contact was brief but Waverly’s touch was so sensual and knowing of everything she could wring from her body that Nicole was left twitching and gasping as Waverly released her.

“You,” Nicole gasped, “you are wicked, Waverly Earp.”

“Naw, I’m just an innocent angel.”

Nicole snorted lightly, chuckling as the noise earned her a light slap to the thigh. “Angel, maybe. I could believe that. But innocent? Hell no.”

Waverly would have loved to continue their gentle banter but Nicole decided to cheat and lifted the hem of her top to wipe her face and effectively fried Waverly’s brain with the flash of her abs. Sweet lord! Wasn’t like she hadn’t spent days and nights with Nicole naked and hers to explore and yet just a flash was still apparently enough to make her lose her mind!

“Are you, erm, on a break?” Waverly asked hopefully, her mind already working on finding a solution as to where they might find some privacy to continue what Nicole had started.

“Only a short one, I’m afraid,” Nicole pouted regretfully. She loved her life. Loved that she was one of the lucky ones that got to dance full time and not have it relegated to a hobby while she earned money doing something else but, right then, she just yearned to spend time with Waverly and forget about everything else. “I had the feeling you would be all hunched over not paying attention to the time so thought I would bring you a drink to keep you going.”

“And a much-needed shoulder rub too. Thank you, babe.” Tugging on Nicole’s clothing, Waverly tugged her back down for another kiss, this one softer, more loving and caring despite the ember still burning inside of her that urged her to deepen it.

“How are the rehearsals going?”

“Slowly,” Nicole grimaced at the thought. “I know we have to adjust from show to show sometimes to allow for changes in the stages but, well, this is changing for a whole different reason. What we do out there it’s training and muscle memory and it hits hard when we have to stop and remember why we’re having to lengthen our stride or add another step that puts us away from where our muscle memory is saying we should be. I think just about every one of us has broken down already.”

Pushing up from her chair, Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole. She felt Nicole stiffen instinctively just for a moment, her need to be the strong one, the rock others depended upon fading under the motion of Waverly’s hands soothing along the line of her spine and her softly uttered soothing sounds that had her melting into the comfort Waverly was offering with an exhale of breath that was ragged and held the edge of a barely repressed sob.

Waverly held Nicole close, letting her cling and gather her strength for as long as she needed to before she straightened up with a rueful smile all crooked upon her stupidly perfect lips and gratitude in her eyes.

Nicole ran her fingertip along Waverly’s jaw, her smile softening as Waverly leaned into her touch. She marvelled at it. Touch. Comfort. Things that were so normal that she hadn’t known much of growing up. Her parents just had been distant with everything that didn’t involve money or their own pleasure. Usually both at the same time. Her gran had tried but she had found it easier to show affection by encouraging her to follow her passions and by then, Nicole had been gun-shy about displays of affection. Touch with Waverly, right from the start that had come so easily and with no cost attached and now Nicole didn’t want to think of a moment where she wouldn’t be able to just reach out and share even the simplest of contacts.

Waverly mirrored Nicole’s touch, delighting at the feel of her soft skin and only slapping her shoulder lightly as she made her squeal by nipping at her wandering fingers. “Ass! Hey, how’s your lunch plans looking? I’m meeting up with Wynonna but if you’ve got the time you could tag along and help keep her out of trouble.”

They had already talked and Waverly knew that there were times that she would be left to her own devices, it was just the nature of life on tour. Nicole’s only request had been that, for the sake of safety, they would let the other know of any plans and they wouldn’t wander off alone. It was apparently a rule they all had in place on every tour no matter what the country and Waverly wondered what happened to make them put something like that in place.

“As much as I would _love_ to tackle mission impossible and help wrangle Wynonna, I think it’s going to be a work through kind of day,” Nicole sighed. “We’re only a third of the way through the set changes and we’ve still got to go over and finalize the tribute for them. Shae has recommended a local restaurant if you feel up to it later though?”

“How fancy a restaurant?” Waverly enquired, already mentally rifling through her suitcases for what she could wear.

“Ahh… actually, I have no idea,” Nicole chuckled. “Shae picks by the quality of food so it could be a fancy five-star place full of pretention and bite-size delights or a dive bar with the best nachos, beer and bar fights on tap. Rosita should know though if you find her. Then maybe you could help me pick out what to wear?”

“If it turns out to be a bar fight kind of place and they’ve got karaoke it will just be like Shorty’s on a Saturday!”

“Babe, that would be less disturbing,” _and less arousing,_ “if you weren’t rubbing your hands together in anticipation.” Nicole eyed Waverly just a touch warily and tried really hard not to get distracted by the jiggle of her boobs or her grin as she bounced around.

Waverly chuckled at the nervousness in Nicole’s eyes and bounced up onto her toes so she could claim a kiss. The sound of someone calling for her in the distance made her moan into Nicole’s mouth knowing that their time together was over but the way Nicole chased after her mouth as she drew back and the glazed and confused look in her eyes as Waverly pulled away soothed her just as much as the growl that purred out of Nicole’s mouth as her name rang out again.

“Damn it!”

Chuckling at Nicole’s heart-warming reluctance to leave, Waverly pulled her back down into a softer kiss, a promise of ‘see you soon’ that lingered longer than she had intended it to as their lips clung and sought each other’s time and again until a third yell of “HAUGHT?!” rang out.

“Double damn it with a cherry on top.”

“Go,” Waverly giggled. “Wynonna will be hunting me down soon anyway. You know what she’s like when it comes to food.”

“Hmm. You have a good time with her then and I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”

Waverly finally sat back down after Nicole jogged out of sight in the direction the voice had called from. She could feel the smile still curving her lips and tasted the soft fruitiness of Nicole’s favoured chapstick upon them as well as the lingering hint of mint from her toothpaste and mouthwash upon her tongue as well as the subtle clean taste that was just Nicole. It made getting back into the flow of her coursework harder than usual but she finally managed it… with only the occasional break to smile and blush just from thinking about her beautiful girlfriend.

She was so engrossed with such a thought that it took a little longer than it probably should have before she realised that Wynonna had her hip propped up upon the corner of the desk and was clearing her throat… and not for the first time going by the smirk on her face.

“Shut up!”

“What? I didn’t say anything!” Wynonna grinned.

“I could see you thinking though so shut up.”

“I won’t say a word,” Wynonna made a locking motion at the side of her mouth and then promptly reversed the motion. “Haught-To-Trot paid you a visit then?” Cackling she stepped away before Waverly could land a blow on her. “Okay, okay! Truce! You ready to grab some lunch, Babygirl?”

“Yep, just need to put this all away,” as she spoke, Waverly started cramming her laptop and everything else into her bag. Minus the snack bar that Wynonna snatched out of her hand to devour like she wasn’t about to go out for lunch. “Oh, and remind me to hunt Rosita down on the way out, I need to check on something.”

“She was getting ready to head out with Mercedes when I left, so if you don’t take forever, we should be able to catch up with them,” Wynonna mumbled around her stolen treat. “Hey, this is good!”

Rolling her eyes, Waverly snatched back the last bite for herself and popped it in her mouth, grinning at the disgruntled pout on Wynonna’s face. “Yep, that is good. Not as sweet as Nicole though.”

“Ew!”

“Hey, you steal my snacks, I get to comment on my best baby.”

“Fair enough… only if you get me more snacks.”

“’Nonna, we’re going out for lunch. Snacks later.”

Wynonna kept up the snack negotiation as they made their way to the locker room set aside for the dancers so that Waverly could lock her laptop away. She’d missed this more than usual even though they had been apart for longer many times when she had been tracking down a bounty. Maybe though, that was because she could feel a shift in the air with Waverly finding love with Nicole. Nicole lived a life untethered, moving from job to job so often that thanks to a slip by the cook at her mansion, Wynonna knew that was the first time Nicole had stayed there for more than a night since her gran had died. With a life like that would Waverly be content to just wait around for the occasional visit, or would she leave Purgatory to follow Nicole?

Wynonna couldn’t say that she wasn’t tempted to do the same thing to stay in contact with Doc and Mercedes. Just up and travel the roads, picking up bounty jobs along the way. But in that dream, Waverly was in Purgatory, home, waiting for her when things went sideways as relationship and life invariably did for her.

“Hey, guys!”

Wynonna was dragged out of her thoughts as Rosita and Mercedes called out to them as they left the locker room. The sight of her lover looking stunning and immaculate as always had her heart kicking it up a notch to pound an excited beat against her ribs and threaten to take flight as lips caressed across her own possessively.

“And she moans about Nicole and I kissing,” Waverly rolled her eyes at their antics and accepted a hug from Rosita. It was the first time she had seen the other woman since Nicole had left the hospital and it looked like her own release from being poked and prodded was agreeing with her as the light was back in her dark eyes.

“It looks like those two are glued together now so I might as well head back to my office and work on some shit.”

“No!” Mercedes reluctantly came up for air and quickly placed her hand over Wynonna’s mouth before she could move in for another kiss and distract her again. “We’re still going—”

“It’s okay—”

“We could all go together,” Waverly offered. “If you were heading the same way that is? I need to ask you about a restaurant Shae recommended to Nicole anyway and these two can get the gross stuff out of their systems.”

“Like you and Haughtsauce aren’t the grossest couple around,” Wynonna snorted from behind Mercedes’ hand.

Waverly sent Nicole a quick text message, letting her know the slight change in plan as she climbed into the smallish and outrageously brightly coloured convertible Rosita had at her disposal. She didn’t expect a reply as she knew that Nicole would be busy but one came back almost instantly in a string of hearts and other cute emojis that made her heart flutter and had her hugging the phone to her heart… much to Wynonna’s disgust as she spent the next five minutes fake dry heaving in the back seat. Though, after experiencing the horror that was Rosita’s driving, Waverly was wondering if all the heaving had been faked.

“Jesus Christ, Rosita! You drive worse than our Aunt Gus and she drives like there’s a stampede of rabid elephants after her!”

“I know we were only there a week so I don’t know what it’s like all year round but… do you get many rabid elephants in Purgatory?” Rosita teased a kind of green looking Wynonna with a smirk playing about her lips.

“To be fair the nearest was Uncle Curtis when some drunk frat boys thought it would be a good idea to mess with his crop of prize tomatoes. Swear he must have composted a few of those boys ‘cause the crop was _amazing_ the next year.”

“Sounds like a hell of a man,” Rosita chuckled as she swung the car in and out of traffic with practised ease.

“He is. No more chasing frat boys for him though. He had a heart attack last year,” Wynonna explained at Rosita’s questioning look. “Only a mild one, thank god. But Aunt Gus put him on a tight ‘no stress or greasy foods allowed’ leash. He’s doing great now though, better than ever really.”

“He looked amazing when I saw him last,” Mercedes nodded. He’d always been a big man, in height, width and personality but the last time she had seen him his waist had trimmed down significantly while his personality had grown bigger.

“Aunt Gus says he still gripes about the lack of bacon for breakfast each morning though,” Waverly chuckled knowing full well that her Uncle only ‘complained’ about it to tease Gus and give her a reason to fuss at him. It was just their way of showing their love for each other.

Even though the journey between the arena and the part of the city they were heading for was relatively short, Waverly was beyond thankful when the engine was turned off and she was finally able to get solid ground beneath her. A feeling that Wynonna obviously shared as she looked ready to kneel down and kiss the ground.

“Bitch! Stop being so dramatic!” Mercedes rolled her eyes and pushed Wynonna off her as she clung to her like a leather-clad koala. Seriously! Who wore leather in these temperatures!? “Put that damn jacket in the trunk too. I’m going to get heatstroke just looking at you.”

Waverly looked around, breathing in the sights and scents of the area of Athens they had ended up in while Wynonna and Mercedes bickered playfully.

They were on the edge of a massive park, the car sheltered from the blazing sun by the leafy trees lining the streets that painted the air with hues of green and blessed shade. It was busy there but still managed to hold a hushed peace and Waverly swore she could taste the history with every breath she took.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” Rosita smiled as Waverly tilted her head back and spread her arms as though she wanted to just embrace it all.

“It’s amazing,” Waverly grinned. “I never thought I would get any further than Purgatory and the Big City and now…” She spun around, raking in the buildings and the people walking around with eager eyes.

“Come on,” grinning eagerly, Rosita held out a hand and snagged Waverly’s. “If you like this bit of street you are going to _love_ the park. “Move it, slowpokes! We’ve got lunch and some serious shopping to get done!” She bellowed over her shoulder as she dragged Waverly towards the park, watching her eyes light up at the first sight of the fountains that misted the air.

“I always forget how amazing this place is,” she whispered softly. As Mercedes and Wynonna drew up alongside them, she linked her hand into the crook of Mercedes' elbow, sighing at the feeling of peace and family that washed over her as she looked around at them all.

After the ‘accident’ she had been scared to go back on the road even though that was one of the things she enjoyed the most. With them there though she felt truly happy again.


	16. Chapter 16

Even though Nicole had prepared her as best she could by telling her every detail of the planned tribute, Waverly felt the back of her throat close up and tears start to well up as she gazed out across the stage. The massive crowd that, minutes before, had been buzzing with excitement, had fallen silent as the lights around the arena had risen once in warning and then gone off.

It was strange, eerie even and kind of beautiful. The people there, they didn’t really know the dancers that had lost their lives from anyone they passed on the street or met on social media and yet they were respectfully silent, barely a murmur or flash of camera breaking the darkness as diaphanous drapes fell down from above with a rustling whisper of sound like sails unfurling.

From where she was, Waverly couldn’t clearly see the images being projected upon them but she had seen it earlier on a monitor and she felt her eyes blur at the memory knowing that the crowds would be seeing snippets, video and photographs of their lives growing up and on tour, personal pictures with friends and family, and also ones with fans all playing before them as they looked up.

A whisper of movement drew Waverly’s gaze as first the band and then the dancers moved quietly into position from either side of the stage. Usually, their faces would have been filled with excitement, while some showed more nervousness to the point that they looked like they might throw up from it, but all Waverly saw was tight jaws, grimly pressed lips and tenseness around their eyes as they prepared to do one more formal and public farewell.

Waverly’s eyes followed Nicole as she moved with Shae, Charlie flanking her other side as they took up their usual positions on the stage and waited for the video above them to play out. She ached to hold her, to wrap her up and soothe away her pain but she knew she would have to wait so she wrapped her arms around herself, holding in the feeling of helplessness.

Across the stage from her in the other wing, she saw Mercedes' shoulders sag as she folded and crumpled into Wynonna and Rosita’s arms and she ached for her. She had no reason to feel guilty for Tucker’s actions; no matter what the press said, Mercedes wasn’t responsible for her brother’s actions and no one there blamed her in any way, shape, or form but Waverly knew that she was holding on to the guilt all the same.

Spotlights came up on the stage, lighting each of the dancers as Shae spoke, her voice strong and eloquent despite the tears Waverly could see shining in her dark eyes as she said the names of the ones they had lost. In their places, revealed by the lights, lay a single, perfect, white rose for remembrance and even though Waverly had known what was coming she found herself having to cram her hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs for the people lost and the ones that remained to grieve them. A hand touched her shoulder, big, solid, comforting, gently offering support as Dolls turned her his waiting arms.

Shifting his cane out of the way, Xavier wrapped both of his arms around her, sheltering from questioning looks as she shuddered with tears that dampened his shirt. Catching her sister’s eye, he gave her a nod, letting her know that Waverly was going to be okay.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly mumbled against him.

“Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry about, you hear me.” Tilting up her chin he gently wiped the tears from her eyes. She was such a gentle, understanding soul, deeply compassionate… he’d seen that from the moment he’d met her, and witnessed it, even more, when they were at Nicole’s mansion.

“I feel a bit silly, crying so much when I didn’t really know them…”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t grieve just as much. And really, you did know them through Nicole.” He turned her, gesturing to everyone on the stage. “Everyone there, everyone around you, we’re family… probably better than a lot of families,” he admitted wryly as he thought about his own families abandonment. “We’re family because we want to be and you’re a part of us now.”

She was a part of them. One that he was convinced had given Nicole the strength and determination to hang on to life after they had been sucked out into the river.

He still felt and saw everything that had happened to them when he closed his eyes and with every twinge in his leg.

Everything before the river was a strange blur of sounds and feelings all jumbled together but that damned river… he still had to shower with nearly scalding water because he could still feel the way his bones had frozen and his muscled locked in the ice cold water… the way it had been so difficult to breathe or move. He had been helpless and then Nicole had grabbed him and refused to let go even when the water had tried to drag them under and they had crashed against rocks and branches. He’d seen her lips, blue from the cold, moving continuously but it wasn’t until they were out of the water that he worked out that she was saying ‘Waverly’ over and over, even muttering it as she had collapsed beside him and fallen into unconsciousness.

Xavier guided Waverly aside a little as Shae finished speaking, promising the crowds that they would honour the deaths of their family by doing what they loved and what they would have wanted. The lights dimmed again, leaving just the two spotlights on the roses as the band moved to their places and the dancers hurried off stage to get ready.

That Nicole made her way straight to Waverly was no surprise. Nor was the love shining from her face. Smiling softly, Xavier gave her a quick hug and clasped a hand to her shoulder before she could lose herself in Waverly’s arms. “You’ve got three minutes,” he warned softly.

“Thanks, boss.”

With Nicole standing right in front of them, Waverly barely even noticed anyone else that milled around them, let alone registered the fact that Xavier had walked away, his cane creating a distinct staccato sound as he went. Everything within her was locked on Nicole, her eyes raking over her, taking in the relaxation in her features, the softening of the lines around her mouth and eyes now that their tribute was over.

Sliding her arms up over Nicole’s shoulders, Waverly linked her fingers together behind her head to resist the temptation to run her fingers through her carefully slicked-back hair and have their time together cut short by the hairstylist she could see waiting to descend on Nicole and cluck at them both like a fussy hen armed with combs and cans of noxious hairspray if she so much as put a hair on Nicole’s head out of place.

“Cindy’s over there glaring at me,” Waverly explained at the questioning tilt of Nicole’s head. The shake of Nicole’s shoulder beneath her arms as she tried to contain her laugh had Waverly feeling like she was floating but it nothing compared to the soaring sensation as Nicole’s hands on her waist eased her closer until their bodies were pressed flush together and her lips sought for and found hers with an ease that made her moan with breathless wonder.

Waverly couldn’t remember rising up on her toes to get closer to Nicole but as her girlfriend eased back from their kiss at the vigorous and overly loud throat clearing from Cindy, Waverly found herself sinking back down to put her feet on the floor.

“I- erm, I’d better…”

Chuckling at the state one kiss had left Nicole in, Waverly gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, turned her in the right direction and sent her off with a more than friendly squeeze to her ass and a little wave.

As the crowd worked themselves back up into a frenzy of anticipation, eager for Shae to fulfil the promise she had made to give them the best show ever, Waverly settled down in a position out of the way of the chaos backstage. It wasn’t an easy thing to do as backstage was like a storm-tossed sea that could buffet and overturn even the hardiest and those used to the roll and rhythm of it all.

Especially in those last few moments before everything and everyone seemed to still, hold their breath and hope and pray that they hadn’t forgotten anything.

Then the sound and lights kicked in, the first raucous chords of music started and Shae and the dancers burst onto the stage. That was everyone relaxed for a couple of seconds before bursting into motion again readying wardrobe, makeup and a million and one other things that needed doing for each number to make sure no one in the audience saw anything less than the best.

People tripping over thick electrical cables and bumping into each other; dancers throwing up in corners from dancing to the point of exhaustion; seams splitting and wig and makeup tantrums, those were the things left backstage and only talked and joked about long after the dust had settled and the crowds had gone home.

Waverly gazed down at Nicole’s, watching as the lights from the arenas parking area flickered and played across the lines of her beautiful face as Doc eased the blacked out vehicle towards the exit. The show had gone perfectly and even though Shae had left already there were still crowds hanging around apparently in no hurry to head home but Doc didn’t let it slow them and Nicole didn’t even lift her head from Waverly’s lap. And Waverly, she was too enraptured by the soft contented noises Nicole was making as she threaded her fingers through her hair to be bothered about what went on outside of the vehicle though she could practically hear Wynonna rolling her eyes from her seat next to Doc.

“You okay, baby?” Running her other hand from where it had been resting at Nicole’s waist, Waverly skimmed along the warmth of her bare arm and shoulder and caressed the line of her jaw.

“Perfect, especially when you do that,” Nicole smiled, pressing deeper into Waverly’s touch. “Glad we don’t have to travel by coach tonight though.” She felt her smile and good mood slip a little at the thought of when they would have to take their first coach ride since the accident. The fact that Waverly would be with her gave Nicole strength and also made her nervous just in case something happened no matter how unlikely it was.

Leaning forward, creating a curtain around them with her hair, Waverly pressed her lips to Nicole’s forehead, kissing away the furrows starting to mar her brow before moving on to bestow a kiss to the very tip of Nicole’s nose that had her girlfriend chuckling lightly and attempting to angle her head to rush a kiss.

Waverly pulled back slightly, hovering just out of reach for a moment as Nicole settled back down to savour the anticipation and the heat from Nicole’s breath against her lips before Nicole grew impatient and closed what little gap lay between them.

The first touch was as electric as always, eliciting a moan that spilt from softly parted lips to fill the others mouths. Waverly’s fingers clenched into the fabric of Nicole’s top and the hair at the nape of her neck, anchoring herself as she tumbled into the silky softness of Nicole’s plump lips moving with hers.

“For the love of— Keep it in your pants guys! Doc, put your foot down before they start doing more than making out.” Wynonna hid a smirk as both Waverly and Nicole flipped middle fingers her way without breaking from this kissing. She was beyond happy for her sister finding love after the disaster of a relationship she had been in with the rodeo clown but luckily she’d managed to at least slow them down before they’d given Doc and show and she’d had to bleach her eyes. There were some things she just didn’t need to see and apparently her baby sister engaging in a round of tonsil hockey and groping a hot redhead was pretty much at the top of the list.

“Hey, dude, you can stop looking at them now.” Wynonna elbowed Doc teasingly, expecting to get a sheepish look from him for looking in the rear-view mirror too long but his eyes when they turned to her were narrowed in a way that had the senses she relied on when on a job going on high alert. Digging her nails into her thighs she fought against the urge to look back over her shoulder to work out what he’s seen. “Problem?”

“Did we pick up a tail, Doc?”

“My apologies for worrying you, Wynonna,” removing a hand from the steering wheel, Doc gave her knee a gentle squeeze. He really should have thought to tell her about that part of his job. “All is well, Nicole,” he spoke reassuringly over his shoulder. “I thought maybe we had but the vehicle just turned off.”

“Okay, good.”

“Nicole?” Stroking a finger down Nicole’s cheek, Waverly drew her gaze.

“Some of the fans can get a little… eager,” Nicole grimaced. “They caught on a while back that false hotel information gets released so sometimes we get followed to try and find out where Shae is staying.”

“Not only Shae,” Doc gritted out. “Nicole likes to ignore the fact that she has something of a following too, as do the other dancers. Some of them, Charlie mostly, court their attention but Nicole doesn’t play and that, and the fact that she has the longest friendship with Shae, has made her a challenge.”

“So this is regular shit to you all?”

“No. But we don’t take any risks, not since…”

“Tucker?”

“No. That boy was a whole different level of crazy,” Doc growled.

“We were doing a shoot for a music video a couple of years back that was staged to look like a gig in the desert. I had someone break into my hotel room while we were filming on stage. Got back to the room and they were there laying on my bed. I hogtied his naked ass, called security, and left him outside for them to find.”

“So are you here to protect Haught or anyone stupid enough to mess with her?”

“A little bit of both,” Doc chuckled proudly. “Mostly the fans are respectful of our stars,” he pursed his lips, his moustache quivering as Nicole snorted at the word. Whether she believed it or not, there was more than one star that shone upon the stage when Shae or any other star performed, and they all elevated each other. “But for those that are not as respectful of boundaries, we take more precautions.”

“In Greece?” Waverly looked out at the beautiful city as it flashed by beyond the tinted window of the car.

“One of our precautions is to keep an eye on social media to check for any hint that anyone might be planning anything. Fear not, Waverly, it was fairly quiet but this, for reasons we are all too aware of, was a high profile show so we… me and my team… are being extra diligent which is why we’ve changed hotels tonight. And on a personal note, it is _always_ a pleasure to act as chauffeur and guide to such beauties as yourselves.”

Wynonna gave his shoulder a pop simply for the way the heat in his sparkling blue eyes made her ache as he turned them upon her with the kind of roguish smirk that had her wishing they were in their hotel room already.

The wide pavement outside of the hotel was blessedly quiet as they pulled up outside of it and alighted. Waverly slipped her hand into Nicole’s, savouring the feel and warmth of her gentle, reassuring touch as they made their way inside the gleaming, modern hotel. After their days on the tiny Greek island that had been more like a home to them than a simple vacation, it felt almost too modern and impersonal, even a bit imposing for a simple barmaid from Purgatory.

Sensing Waverly’s unease, Nicole stood closer as they signed in together and made their way up to their room.

“Waves, do you want to order from room service while I grab a quick shower?”

“Or I could join you in the shower?” Waverly waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“As tempting as that is… and boy is that tempting,” Nicole moaned softly at the thought. “I haven’t eaten anything since a salad at lunch and I really need to wash all the sweat off me.”

“Fine… but only if I can make you sweat some more later.”

“Oh, I’m sure you can.”

Waverly grinned at Nicole’s slightly dazed tone before she shook her head like a dog shaking off water and sent the still sweat dampened strands of her red hair flying around her face.

“You. Food. Order.”

“Fine,” Waverly pouted. “What do you want?”

“You know what I like, Baby… Surprise me.” Unable to resist the allure of her girlfriend, Nicole leaned in, closing the gap between them and sealed their lips together in a gentle kiss. The one became a second and then a third before Nicole was finally able to pull away, her breath panting out raggedly with the need to claim another as Waverly chased her withdrawing lips. “Damn, baby.”

“Go, shower.” Waverly gave Nicole a gentle push in the direction of the bathroom. She had been more worried during the day at how quiet Nicole had grown as the show had neared, her mood obviously weighed down by their memorial to their friends. The pain was sure to return but she could feel the lightness returning to her now their first show without them at their side was over.

As she heard the shower starting up, Waverly was hard pressed to resist the urge to join Nicole but the virulent growl of her stomach reminded her that she had eaten little that day and Nicole had had even less. Finding the room service menu she gave it a quick glance and picked up the phone to order some of their favourite dishes.

The tapping on the door as their food arrived was almost drowned out by the sound of running water and the slightly off-key warbling of Nicole singing bits of what seemed to be at least five pop songs all at the same time. Waverly rolled her eyes as Nicole hit a particularly off note. She knew for a fact that Nicole could singer better than that no matter what Nicole claimed but Nicole also knew that it drove her crazy to hear only snippets of a song and played on that just to torment her.

No sooner had the door to their room closed again and the water was turned off and Waverly swore she heard as Nicole scented the air and caught a whiff of the food awaiting her.

A theory that was backed up by the appearance of Nicole moments later, her hands still working to belt the robe she had thrown on and her hair still slicked back and dripping from the shower.

“Food?” Nicole asked hopefully.

“Yep,” Waverly chuckled as Nicole patted her growling stomach. “Go dry your hair a bit, silly. Hey, do you want to eat out on the balcony?”

“That sounds perfect to me,” Nicole smiled gratefully. “Feels like I’ve been stuck inside all day. It’ll be good to feel some fresh air. I’ll go grab a towel for my hair.”

“Baby…” she waited until Nicole’s head poked back around the edge of the bathroom door. “Leave the robe on.”

Nicole nearly skidded into the shower in her haste to grab a towel and get back to Waverly. That twinkle in her eyes stated quite clearly that Waverly planned on getting her out of her robe as soon as she could and Nicole was all for that.

Towel in hand, Nicole quickly returned to help Waverly take the food out into the small balcony. After being on stage the night air was just cool enough to act as a balm to her heated skin, a gentle breeze teasing across her face and stirring the ends of her hair as she followed the gentle, seductive sway of Waverly’s hips.

“Oh, wow! I will never get used to that,” Waverly breathed softly.

Putting the plates on the table, Nicole looked up and followed Waverly’s gaze. Really, the sight of the Acropolis all lit up should have caught her attention sooner but in all fairness, she had been too mesmerized by the sight of Waverly and nothing could hold a candle to her.

Picking up the glasses of red wine Waverly had managed to put down, Nicole handed one to Waverly as she joined her as she leaned against the balcony rail. A trail of heat spread from the hand that Waverly slid around her waist and the press of her body as she leaned into her side.

“It’s beautiful.”

“You are beautiful,” Nicole corrected her. Tilting up Waverly’s chin, Nicole swiped a thumb across her cheeks and sipped from her lips, tasting the sip of wine she had taken upon her lips and tongue as it slipped delicately into her mouth.

Waverly pulled back slightly, their chuckles merging as both of their stomachs let out demanding growls.

They sat together, sharing bites of each other’s dishes, quiet conversation and heated glances as the gentle hum of the city drifted around them. With every glance, every touch, Waverly felt the heat between them, rising and building until she could feel her body throb in anticipation with each breath she took.

They both knew where their subtle dance of seduction was leading and were both content, for the most part, to let it build slowly. As Nicole’s mouth closed around the offered mouthful of dessert, her nimble tongue swiping across her lips to gather up the excess cream and syrup that lingered there, a decedent moan purring from her throat, Waverly felt sure it was possible to orgasm just from listening to her. And as enticing as it was to test that theory, she wanted all of Nicole.

Swallowing the last of her wine, Waverly stood and held out her hand, closing her fingers around the long ones that slid across her palm. A slow tug upon the belt of her robe, the soft slither of fabric as it loosened and parted had Nicole’s head dropping to watch the motion. Waverly could feel the excitement trembling through Nicole’s body as she slid her fingers beneath the edges of the robe and eased it off her shoulders and let it fall to pool in a heap on the floor.

God, she was so beautiful! Every line and curve breath-taking in its perfection.

Guiding her back across the room until the backs of Nicole’s knees nudged against the bottom of the bed, Waverly placed her hand between Nicole’s breasts and applied just enough pressure until Nicole knew what she wanted and scooted back onto the bed to wait as she stripped off her clothes.

There was always give and take between them in the bedroom… or whatever room they were in at the time. Right then though there was something burning within Waverly that wanted… demanded, nothing less than for Nicole to surrender control to her. And, as she climbed on the bed, stalking up the length of Nicole’s eagerly waiting body, Waverly could see that Nicole’s need more than matched her own.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blame my muses for that literary version of a fade to black at the end there ;p


	17. Chapter 17

Tours were difficult, amazing, but difficult.

Countries, hotels, airports and arena all blurred into one generic swirl until it became almost impossible to work out from one show to the next where they even were. The performing part of it was great. Nicole loved nothing more than the rush that came with knowing she had helped Shae, or whichever star she was working with, put on the kind of show that had the fans leaving feeling like they had witnessed something amazing that had been well worth the price of the tickets.

With Waverly at her side though, Nicole had rediscovered the true joy and excitement that was usually only there at the beginning of a tour when seeing each new city or country laid out below the plane was thrilling.

Greece would forever hold a special place in their hearts, especially the little island paradise they had shared, as it was the first country that Waverly had visited outside of Canada… Waverly said that visiting a different country to sit at her bedside didn’t count so that ruled out Minneapolis.

Everywhere they had visited so far in the tours meandering zigzag across Europe, Waverly had approached it with the same infectious joy and a seemingly limitless amount of facts and figures, and handy phrases learned while the rest of them caught up on their sleep between gigs. And in doing so she had enthralled even the most jaded traveller amongst them.

Waverly had captivated her friends to the point that Nicole sometimes found it difficult to find a free moment where they could be alone. Nicole didn’t mind at all, it was good that Waverly was finding friends, especially as Wynonna had returned home… but it did mean that instead of just getting ice cream for herself and Waverly at her favourite London ice cream parlour, she was having to spiel off a seemingly endless list from a notepad while they waited outside.

Apparently, because she was the resident ‘ice cream addict’, she was the one that had to pay for them for everyone. Nicole couldn’t really see the logic in that but if proving that she wasn’t an addict meant doing without ice cream… well, that just wasn’t happening.

Looking out of the window while she waited, Nicole smiled as she watched Waverly and the way the early autumn sun danced through her sun-lightened hair and her golden tanned face as she tilted back her head to gaze up in wonder at the ‘magnificent architecture’ as she had put it when they had got to that part of the city after doing the obligatory open top bus tour… where Nicole had spent her time watching Waverly looking at the famous buildings as they were pointed out, and listening as Waverly whispered an even more fascinating fact about each place into her ear after the bored looking guide had finished speaking.

“Will there be anything else?”

Nicole dragged her attention away from the beauty of Waverly and gave the patiently waiting server a smile as she did a quick cone and tub count. “Nope, that looks like all of them, thanks.” Handing over some bills she waved Charlie inside so he could start handing around some of the ice creams to the waiting horde.

The tiny bell above the door tinkled again not long after Charlie had departed with two carry trays in his hands. Without looking up, Nicole smiled, know who it was and what she wanted.

“Hey, psst, Nicole! Is there any chance I could get some—”

“Sprinkles and strawberry syrup?” Nicole interrupted, holding out a tub of vegan ice cream exactly how she’d known Waverly would want it by the longing looks she had been giving a poster in the window. Nicole smiled as Waverly’s eyes lit up as she took the tub of ice cream and started bouncing on her heels at the sight of the red, white and blue sprinkles, and the stripes of glistening syrup coating the top of the ice cream.

Nicole’s jaw dropped, and the change that the server was placing in her hand almost followed it, as Waverly let out a moan of pleasure right behind her. Blushing furiously at the servers knowing look, Nicole fixed Waverly with a glower that might have been more impressive if she hadn’t whimpered as the sight of Waverly’s tongue swiping her plastic spoon clean derailed her ability to do more than ache.

“Mmmm,” Waverly grinned knowingly as Nicole’s jaw dropped even more and her eyes darkened at her maybe slightly exaggerated moan. “This is soooooo good. You were right about this place, Nic. Best vegan ice cream ever!”

Flustering out what she hoped later had come close to being a “bye”, Nicole grabbed the rest of the ice creams with one hand and Waverly’s elbow with the other and ushered her out of the shop. “You are so in for it later, Waverly.”

“Promise?”

Rather than answering verbally, Nicole stole the taste of vanilla, strawberry and sugary sprinkles from Waverly’s mouth with a deep kiss that left Waverly swaying and clutching at her jacket.

“Wow,” Waverly breathed out.

“Yep, that’s a promise,” Nicole smirked against Waverly’s lips, pressing their lips together in a gentler kiss before easing away from Waverly’s chasing lips to scoop up a spoonful of her own ice cream.

Their bodies bumped and swayed together as they walked down the bustling London streets eating ice cream and listening to their friend’s playful banter until their ice cream was gone and they could link arms with each other.

Their group earned a few looks in passing but in a city used to crazy tourists, the looks were fleeting and thankfully, none lingered long enough for anyone to notice that a world-famous pop star had just joined them.

Nicole grinned as Waverly did a double take as Shae slipped an arm through hers while Rosita looped an arm through the crook of her elbow. Shae just took far too much pleasure in testing out her ‘disguises’ upon Waverly… though Shae had learned not to approach her until Waverly knew who she was after doing that once and having a jealous Waverly rounding on her.

Nicole thought jealous Waverly looked like an angry kitten, but, according to Shae, jealous Waverly was more like a furious tiger.

“Did we miss ice cream time again?”

“You snooze, you lose. But don’t worry, knowing Nicole there are at least another five places along the way,” Waverly teased, bumping her shoulder against Shae.

“Well, that’s where you are wrong,” Nicole huffed, sticking her tongue out at them both, “there’s only four.”

And Nicole makes sure that they visited all of them as they continue their leisurely tour around, taking in the sights and sounds as they do every typical touristy thing they can in the time they’d got including watching the changing of the guard, taking pictures with the guards outside of Buckingham Palace… where Nicole was pretty sure she saw the stoic guard wink at Charlie, and they even visited the Tower Of London, where Waverly spent a lot of time talking raven care with the Raven Master who she apparently followed on Twitter.

No matter what they did, Nicole just couldn’t take her eyes off Waverly. Even when she tried not to stare at her like some crazy lovesick puppy, she knew exactly where Waverly was, as every fibre of her being gravitated towards her like a flower following the life-giving rays of the sun.

As the sun started to sink behind the buildings and the London nightlife started to wake up, Charlie and many of the others drifted away and went off in search of entertainment in the many bars and nightclubs.

“Is it okay if we do something a bit quieter?”

“Of course it is,” Nicole smiled softly. Tucking her chin against Waverly’s shoulder she wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, kissing her cheek as they watched Doc, Mercedes, Shae and Rosita driving off back towards the hotel. “Have you got something in mind?”

“For later… oh most definitely,” Waverly purred, dancing her fingers along Nicole’s arms where they wrapped around her. She smirked as she heard Nicole’s breath catch. “How do you feel about a stroll down by the river? Oh, or we could go on one of the night tours… there are haunted ones.”

“Haunted?” Nicole shifted nervously.

“Mhm. They take you around where Jack the Ripper stalked his victims and all the most haunted places.”

“Sounds… lovely,” Nicole mumbled through gritted teeth as a shiver shot down her spine thanks to the fingers Waverly tiptoed through the fine hairs at the back of her neck.

“If something like that bothers you we don’t have to do that,” Waverly quickly assured her. One thing she had found with Nicole, as brave as she was, she didn’t have a great fondness for horror movies.

“No, it should be fun…” Nicole chuckled softly as Waverly started bouncing in excitement in her arms and pulled her phone out to start checking where and when the best tour would be. “If I get scared you’ll just have to hold me extra close later.”

“Hmm, I think I could get on board with that plan no matter we do.”

“Well, we could just—”

“Nope! Tour first then snuggles!” Waverly interrupted Nicole before she could entice her more than she already did just by existing. She hadn’t said anything to Nicole before but since she had heard of them she had wanted nothing more than to go on one of the haunted tours. The supernatural and true crimes were things she just found fascinating… probably more than she should. But… she also didn’t want to push Nicole into anything she was uncomfortable with. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I’m sure.”

**********

By the time the haunted tour was over and they were safely back in their hotel room, which Nicole sincerely hoped wasn’t haunted, the one thing she was sure about was that there was no part of London that wasn’t cursed or haunted in one way or another.

The tour had been… terrifying… in a grisly and morbidly fascinating kind of way. And worse… once more, Waverly had proved to be a fount of knowledge of even more grisly details. And she’d just loved sharing alllll the details.

Pausing in brushing her teeth, Nicole looked in the mirror at the wide-eyed startled look that was still on her face and rolled her eyes at herself before checking that she hadn’t gained any grey hairs.

“What are you doing in there?”

“Nothing!?” Nicole quickly dropped her hands and went back to brushing her teeth before Waverly decided to investigate and caught her checking for grey hairs.

“Are you sure? ‘Cause, you don’t sound sure.” Waverly peeked over the edge of the book she’d been flicking through as the bathroom door finally opened. The light from within framed the outline of Nicole’s body in a golden glow that made her hair look like a halo of fire. As the bathroom light switched off, the bedroom light caught the brown of her eyes as her long, muscular legs ate the distance between her and the bed with a sinfully smooth gliding stride.

“I was just getting ready for bed.” Plucking the book out of Waverly’s hands, Nicole looked at the cover and groaned when she saw the title. “Waves, you’re going to give me nightmares reading that!” she whined.

“How is reading ghost stories going to give _you_ nightmares?” Waverly questioned as Nicole put the book out of reach and hopped over her onto the empty side of the bed with a wicked smirk teasing her lips as she lay on her side facing her with her head propped up on her hand.

“’Cause you’ll read something fascinating and then you’ll want to share. Then while I’m staring up at the ceiling thinking about it all, you’ll fall blissfully asleep with that cute smile on your face. Yep, that’s the one,” she teased as Waverly crinkled her nose at her.

“Hmm, well… maybe you should think of a way to distract me then.” Which Nicole was already doing a pretty good job of as her long, slender, and very knowledgeable fingers work their way under the fabric of her sleep-shirt to trace seemingly aimless trails of fire across her abdomen.

“Distract you, hmm? Now, I wonder how I should go about that?” Nicole grinned as she slowly tiptoed her fingers up along Waverly’s body, letting Waverly’s shirt ride along the top of her hand and forearm rather than exposing her straight away. She could feel Waverly desperately trying to hold herself still to the point she was holding her breath, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip, her muscles tightening with anticipation as her fingers neared the tempting curves of her breasts.

Even with the ‘nature’ of the haunted tour to distract her, Nicole had been on edge all day, her body climbing a steady slope of arousal with every lingering touch and glance they shared. Which was not unusual as Waverly just had that effect on her. Nicole wanted her, ached for her on every level and with every fibre of her being and she would have been more than satisfied if Waverly had just wanted to sleep beside her but just that one glance over the top of her book when she had left the bathroom had been enough for Nicole to know that Waverly needed her too. And if that hadn’t told her, Waverly’s eager response to her touch was a loud and clear signal.

Leaning into the warmth of Waverly’s stretched out body, Nicole let her breath tease across the sensitive skin of her shoulder and throat until her lips hovered just above the shell of Waverly’s ear as her fingers slowly, teasingly inched higher until the hovered just above the straining peak of a nipple. Nicole could see its twin pressed against the fabric of her shirt and she could feel the tension thrumming through Waverly’s body like a tightly wound guitar string waiting for her fingers to strum the perfect chord upon her.

A soft, lilting whimper caressed Nicole’s ear, heightening her own arousal with its plaintive call as Waverly back arched upwards, seeking out her touch.

Flattening her hand upon Waverly’s sternum, Nicole pressed gently but firmly, pushing Waverly’s spine back against the mattress as she breathed against her ear, purring softly… “Breathe, baby. We’ve got allllll night.”

Nicole chuckled softly as Waverly launched into action with a frustrated growl. Shorter but deceptively muscular, she used it against her, pushing against her shoulder as she rolled and slid across until she was sitting on her, her knees planted either side of her hips.

“Something wrong, baby?”

Using her knowledge of Waverly’s body, Nicole derailed whatever was about to come out of her mouth by sliding her hands along Waverly’s thighs and hips, pressing her thumbs gently but firmly into the divots either side of her pelvis just how she loved it.

As she sagged, a moan falling from her lips, Nicole swept Waverly’s shirt off over her head and covered the sensitive, aching, flesh of her breasts with her hands and mouth. She growled softly against her, nipping at the underside of a breast as Waverly’s fingers tunnelled through her hair and pulled until she lifted her head.

There was a fire blazing within Waverly’s hazel eyes, an urgency she couldn’t seem to find the voice to ask for what she wanted. But she found another way and Nicole let herself be guided by the insistent push and pull of Waverly’s hands until she left the hard nub of a nipple she had been deliberately neglecting pressed against her lips.

The need in Waverly’s eyes as she gazed down at her, the soft whimper as she ground her hips into hers, it ate away at what little self-control Nicole had left. And really, why deny herself when they wanted the same thing and it was being offered so prettily?

Locking her eyes with Waverly’s, Nicole opened her mouth, enveloping the hard bud of Waverly’s dusky nipple with her lips and tongue, grazing it with her teeth as Waverly arched her back, pushing deeper into the heat of her mouth.

Nicole played with her flesh, worshipping both breasts equally with deep licks and gentle flicks of her tongue. She bit and suckled, her moans vibrating against Waverly’s trapped flesh, eliciting gasps and moans from deep within Waverly as she bucked against her, begging for more.

Forced to relinquish her hold as Waverly pulled her top up and over her head, Nicole flipped her lover over and settled between her thighs before Waverly could do more than blink up at her. A sigh left Nicole’s mouth, a shiver racing up her spine as Waverly shifted her hips, raising her knees so they bracketed her thighs and allowed Nicole’s body to settle even closer to the heat of her.

Waverly arched her hips up desperate for even greater contact between them. A whine of frustration rose through her at the feel of fabric still between them. Stupid sleep shorts! Clawing her way down the slender, muscular lines of Nicole’s back, she plucked and pushed at them, her thankfully blunt nails digging into the sweet curve of Nicole’s ass as she managed to expose it. A sharply hissed breath against her ear as she pulled Nicole even closer, their hips starting up a slow, sensual grinding that had Waverly’s entire body thrumming with need.

_More! More! More!_

She wasn’t even aware of giving voice to the frantic chanting in her head until Nicole suddenly pulled away and she felt the tug of her wet shorts being peeled down her body and felt her throbbing centre exposed to the cooler air of the room and then the heated press of Nicole’s tongue.

Waverly screamed her pleasure into the room, her back bowed off the bed. Her fingers dug into the sheets, Nicole’s hair, and anything she could grab a hold of as Nicole ripped a sudden orgasm out of her and apparently had no intention of slowing down until she got more.

Feeling Waverly’s hand weakly tapping against the top of her head as she got too sensitive, Nicole pulled back with one last long slurp of her tongue that had Waverly yelping out a startled squeak and had her bowing up again. Propping herself up on her elbows, Nicole grinned at Waverly’s weak glower and went to wipe what Waverly’s body had spilt from her chin at least.

“Duh- don’t,” Waverly panted out weakly. Crooking a finger, she whimpered softly as Nicole stopped long enough to get rid of her own ruined shorts before sliding up her body. The feel of skin upon skin… _finally_ … The taste of her orgasm, slick and hot as it mingled with the taste of Nicole beneath, it had her sighing in relief and anticipation at the same time.

The room filled with their soft cries and the sounds of their bodies moving and coming together. The heat and scent of their arousal lingered long after their bodies slowed, their kisses growing soft and languid as tiredness finally laid claim to them as the rising sun started to paint colours across the sky.

Waverly wasn’t even aware of her phone ringing until Nicole mumbled in her arms and thrashed about sleepily trying to locate the source of the annoyance.

“S’okay, I’ll get it.” Patting Nicole’s shoulder, or what she thought might be her shoulder, Waverly rolled over and managed to wrangle her phone as it vibrated across the nightstand on her side of the bed. Blinking at the display, she sat up and pushed her sex-tousled hair out of her face as Nicole moved and curled around her body.

“’Nonna?”

Nicole felt Waverly’s body growing still and stiffening beneath her as she listened to whatever her sister had to say. Shaking off the effects of sleep, Nicole sat up in the bed. Seeing the fear building in Waverly’s eyes she grabbed a couple of bottles of water for them and waited, offering her silent support and a hand to anchor her as Waverly grabbed for her.

As the call ended, Nicole took the phone from her as Waverly’s hand dropped limply back to her lap. Gently, she eased Waverly into her embrace, rubbing her back and shoulders as her tears silently fell and dampened her shoulder.

“Just tell me what you need, Baby.”

“It’s Shorty… he- he had… heart attack,” Waverly hiccupped out. “I need to go home.”


	18. Chapter 18

Nicole could almost feel the need for contact flowing off Waverly in palpable waves of sadness and anxiety. She had been quiet from the moment the call with her sister had ended; quiet and withdrawn, lost in her own mind where Nicole was sure Waverly was managing to put the blame for Shorty’s heart attack on her own shoulders.

“I should have been here.”

“Waves,” taking a hand off the steering wheel, Nicole gently placed it upon Waverly’s knee. With how she was turned away, her whole body crammed against the passenger door, her body angled away in the confines of the seatbelt as she stared blindly at the depressingly barren landscape beyond the window, it was all Nicole could reach safely without stopping the car. “Hey, you couldn’t know this was going to happen.”

Nicole had lost track of how many times the silence had been broken by Waverly saying the same thing or something similar, and how many time she had tried to reassure Waverly that it wasn’t her fault. If she had to repeat herself a million times though she would do it until Waverly believed her.

There were any number of reasons he could have had a heart attack and Waverly blaming herself was doing no good any more than Mercedes blaming herself for Tucker’s actions, or how often she wondered what might have been if she had just acted sooner in trying to stop him before he’d grabbed Rosita and drawn on them, changed anything.

Glancing at the rear-view mirror, Nicole checked the road behind them and checked on Mercedes at the same time. Sitting in the back, the usually bubbly woman was lost in thought just as much as Waverly was. Although she had left Purgatory not long after leaving school, the town was small, everyone knew everyone else and Shorty had been such a part of her life and almost an Uncle to her as much as he had the Earp sisters.

The sight of the 50’s style seven miles to go sign looming up on the side of the road was a welcome and strangely ominous sight… really, just why in the hell had someone decided that ‘Purgatory’ would be a good name for a town? It was as though the early settlers had run out of cute names and names that reminded them of their old lives in different countries and had just lost hope and picked names like Purgatory and Tombstone.

“What are you thinking about?” Reaching out, Waverly tentatively touched the side of Nicole’s face, her thumb tracing over the arch of her dark eyebrows, stilling the rather impressive gymnastics they’d been doing in time with her thoughts.

“Nothing important,” smiling softly, Nicole captured Waverly’s hand and pressed a kiss to the tips of her fingers.

“I don’t want important right now,” Waverly muttered into the collar of her jacket.

Nicole nodded understandingly. “First time we drove into Purgatory we passed that sign,” slowing the car, she pointed at the overly cheerful painting as they cruised past. “Creeped the hell out of me,” she admitted with a chuckle. “Name like Purgatory… the grinning nuclear family and the seven miles thing… Seven deadly sins… the seven levels of hell… When my parents weren’t being huge hypocritical assholes they were dragging me to church in an attempt to curry favour with the other rich hypocritical assholes that went, and in a vain attempt to pray the gay out of me.”

“I really want to slap the hell out of your parents.”

Nicole could think of much better things for Waverly’s hands to be doing instead of touching them, but instead of saying so she smiled her thanks against Waverly’s hand.

“While they used to sit and pretend they weren’t cheating on their marriage with other parishioners I used to be shooed away to Sunday school with the other kids… until I smiled at the vicar’s daughter once too often.”

“Nicole!” Waverly found herself chuckling slightly at Nicole’s rakish eyebrow waggle.

“What? She was a cutie,” Nicole defended herself. “Anyway, I was only being friendly. That was all I wanted, a friend, I didn’t even know I was gay then, just that I wanted a friend… and she was cute. Not being in Sunday school I got to listen to all the hellfire and brimstone sermons with the adults. Never stepped in a church since,” she shuddered. “So that sign is kind of like war flashbacks for me.”

“Yeah, it is a strange name for a town. Willa used to terrorise me with stories about demons, ghosts and all sorts of things because of it. I think they stuck with Wynonna too. Did you see the holes in the sign?”

“Yeah?”

“Every time Wynonna comes home from doing a job she takes a shot at it or the one on the other side of town.”

“A few of those are mine,” Mercedes chuckled. “Though when I had a few beers in me I probably missed more often than not. Swore I would never come back to this backwards hellhole when I put it behind me but… I think I actually missed this place… Well, some of the people in it anyway.” Smiling softly, she gave Waverly’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting the younger woman know that she was one of the people she’d missed.

“I’m glad you came back with us.”

“Me too. Hey, want me to drive for a while, Nicole? I got more of a rest on the flight than you did and I think I remember the way to the homestead better than the place I grew up in I was there so much.”

Smiling her thanks, Nicole pulled the car over and swapped with Mercedes. Waverly climbed in the back with her, her body pressing comfortably against hers, seeking out contact rather than drawing into herself again. Nicole guided her down, offering up her lap as a pillow as Mercedes put on some music, the volume just enough to rise above the sound of the engine and the tyres upon the road as she stared them off again but not enough to disturb their thoughts, stop conversation… or prevent Waverly from finally relaxing enough under the gentle carding of Nicole’s fingers through her hair to fall asleep.

Nicole felt herself starting to drift, the heat pouring from the AC and the gentle beat of the music lulling her as Mercedes steered the car around the outskirts of Purgatory. Through the window, she saw the outside of Shorty’s. The building was cast in a darkness, not a glimmer showing through the windows or a sign lit and Nicole felt stab through her heart even though, or maybe because, of her connection to him through Waverly.

She felt Waverly stir on her lap, a soft, plaintive whimper falling from her lips as though she knew where they were right then. Nicole gently rubbed her cheek and shoulder, soothing her back toward a deeper, more peaceful sleep.

“Do you think he’ll be okay, Nicole?”

“I don’t know…” Nicole sighed softly as she dragged her eyes from Waverly to meet Mercedes’ dark eyes in the mirror, gazing at her searching for hope to cling to. “I hope so. From what you and Waverly have told me about Shorty he’s a tough old dude but Wynonna wasn’t able to tell us much when she called as she’d only just heard from Gus.” Their Aunt had managed to get through to Wynonna first and Wynonna had said she would contact Waverly so that Gus and Curtis could concentrate on what needed doing for Shorty.

“I hope she’s home.”

“I’m sure she is. She was heading home as soon as she got off the phone with Waves.” Through the mirror, Nicole saw Mercedes’ mouth curve into a hopeful smile that bloomed and grew wider still miles later after she had navigated the quiet winding roads and the Earp homestead came into view and she was pretty sure she could make out Wynonna’s Harley Davidson parked up next to Waverly’s red Jeep and the blue and white truck Wynonna generally ‘borrowed’ from Gus and Curtis when she was home.

Nicole had been to the homestead only a couple of times with Waverly as they had spent most of the time they’d had together meeting up where they were visiting so as not to waste a moment… and Waverly said she didn’t want to risk Wynonna scaring her away. From what Nicole had seen of the place though she liked it.

It was small and homely, with a hodgepodge of smaller outbuildings sitting on five acres or so of land with nothing but views of the mountains and trees for miles around. The buildings were all definitely in need of a little attention but they were sound enough and when it came to the homestead itself it didn’t need the fire lit in the hearth to feel the warmth as it was in every piece of furniture, ornament and all the inordinate amount of decorative throw pillows that almost obscured the couches and chairs they were on.

But, for Nicole, the main source of warmth and home, came from the woman still snoring softly away on her lap.

A brush of her finger across the downy softness of Waverly’s cheek and a squeeze of her shoulder earned the softest of grumbles from Waverly. Leaning down, Nicole pressed light kisses to Waverly’s temple, cheek and the corner of her mouth, feeling the curve of a smile against her lips as Waverly started to stir. “Almost home, Waves.”

The smile fell from Waverly’s mouth, a sadness passing behind her eyes as the protective veil of sleep fell away and she remembered just why they were back there. Nicole would have given anything to protect Waverly from her sadness but she knew that all she could do was be there for her.

“Looks like Wynonna beat us back.” The older sister had come out, drawn by the sound of an engine on the lonely road even before Mercedes turned their rental car, only just missing the steel grey metal mailbox, and had them bouncing across the thick wooden slats of the flat bridge with the old, and slightly crooked lynch gate with an ‘Earp’ sign nailed to the middle.

Despite the speed she did the manoeuvre in, Mercedes pulled the car up smoothly next to Wynonna’s bike and turned off the engine. They both watched, allowing the sisters their moment, as Waverly flew from the car and straight into her sisters waiting arms as Wynonna left the porch to meet her. They clutched at each other so tightly, Waverly’s feet almost leaving the floor. Bound together by their shared love and sadness even more than the strength of their arms.

They talked quietly, Wynonna cradling Waverly’s downturned face as she spoke. Whatever Wynonna said eventually calmed Waverly down and earned her a nod off Waverly and she stroked the fresh fall of tears of relief away from her cheeks before pressing a tender kiss to her forehead.

“Well, well! Ginger one and ginger two!”

“Bring it in, bitch!”

“Damn! I’ve missed you!”

No matter how often she saw them together, Nicole didn’t think she would get used to how perfect two totally different people as Mercedes and Wynonna could fit together. There was Mercedes with her designer clothes, high heels that made Nicole fear for Mercedes’ safety whenever she walked, and perfectly styled hair. And then there was Wynonna with her unique style of clothing that usually consisted of biker boots that ended just below her knees, too tight pants; in this instant skinny jeans that were more holes than fabric, and band tees that were generally altered and cut down to show what was probably a dangerous amount of cleavage and abdomen given Purgatory’s abundant amount of snowy days.

They were so very different it shouldn’t work… but it did.

“I hope Waves behaved? No inappropriate groping with the abundance of sexy redheads on offer?”

Bags in hand, Nicole stuck her head around the edge of the open trunk. “Aww, Earp! You think I’m sexy!?” Nicole smirked as Wynonna pulled a face at her. Even though she was more than capable of handling all the bags in one go, Nicole handed one over to Waverly as she held out a hand expectantly, her hazel eyes begging for something to do so she could feel useful.

“Is there any news on how Shorty is doing?”

“Give me one of those,” Wynonna took a bag off Nicole’s shoulder and led the way into the homestead. “I got to see him for a little while earlier… where the old coot bitched us all out for fussing over him,” she chuckled lightly. “He looks pale… You’ll have to prepare yourself for that, Babygirl. But he’s stubborn as hell and the Docs said he should be good as new once they get him settled and fixed up with a pacemaker.”

Nicole followed Waverly up the stairs to her room and placed the bags down. The room was beautiful, the furniture and bedding all done in soft pastel shades with diaphanous fabric hanging behind the thicker curtains that cast warm tones around the room as the weak autumn sun poured through the windows.

A pair of beautiful, elegantly carved, angel wings upon the top of the dresser caught Nicole’s eyes briefly but it was Waverly that had her attention as she turned. Standing in the middle of the room, she looked lost and uncertain. Stepping closer, Nicole held her arms open and wrapped them around the compact body that fell into them.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, Waves.” Picking her up, Nicole carried Waverly to the couch rather than the bed, cradling her close and whispering soft reassurances while tears of relief fell against her.

Waverly relaxed against Nicole’s body, unwinding inch by inch until she released all the tension she had been holding for so many hours with a deep, ragged sigh and exhale of breath. She allowed herself to feel, absorbing all the warmth and comfort Nicole offered so readily.

Lifting her head, Waverly looked into the warmth of Nicole’s eyes, watching the way the light through the curtain brought out the gold in her eyes and lit the red of her hair on fire as her fingers ran through the sun-kissed strands.

Seeking more, Waverly shifted upon Nicole’s lap, feeling the bunching of the muscles of her thighs as she straddled her lap. Pressing her back into the cushions of the couch, she pressed their lips together, tracing the feel and shape of them with her own. The kiss was soft and loving, the passion bubbling just beneath the surface until it burst out in an eager press of tongue and fingers searching for a way beneath clothing.

“Hey! Come put some coffee on if you want something before we go visit Shorty!”

“Your sister has such _wonderful_ timing,” Nicole groaned against Waverly’s lips.

“Gus left us some soup to reheat too! Well, I say us to reheat but we both know that means you unless you want the kitchen burning down again!”

“Again?” Nicole queried anxiously.

“Well,” Waverly shrugged when she realised there was nothing she could say to defend Wynonna’s skills, or decided lack of, in the kitchen. “Don’t worry, we’ll get her back later… the walls here are very thin,” Waverly explained, chuckling as Nicole spluttered and went beet red before recovering and a thoughtful, wickedly teasing look crossed her eyes and curved her lips.

“Hold on,” Nicole moaned, realisation dawning. “But that means we might hear… _them._ And John Henry is flying over in a couple of days too. I already had to live through the sight of their naked asses once too often and now I might get to hear… _that._ ” Groaning with thick exaggeration, Nicole rested her forehead against Waverly’s shoulder and let Waverly’s chuckles and gentle carding of her fingers through her hair sooth her.

She really, really did not want to have to hear orgasm noises from them but… Waverly’s chuckles at her carrying on made it worth it.

“Maybe we could get Doc some fake tan for his ass just in case.”

“Waves!!!”

“And hey, until he’s here we can do our best to remind Wynonna just how well sound travels around the homestead.”

The wicked sparkle lighting Waverly’s eyes coupled with the way her even, white teeth pressed enticingly into her bottom lip had Nicole’s body surging with need so quickly it took her breath away. And before she could remember how to do the pretty important breathing thing, Waverly’s mouth was back on hers and Nicole found the whole thinking thing difficult too.

“Coffee!!! Come on, guys! I’m thirsty!”

“She doesn’t know how to make coffee?”

“She really doesn’t,” Waverly shook her head in exasperation. “It’s a simple machine too but the fact that it needs water as well as coffee grounds is, apparently, just beyond her.”

“I know you like to grab a shower after a flight so, before she tries to burn down the kitchen or something else all classic Wynonna, how about I head on down and fix some drinks for us all?”

“Really? That would be amazeballs! But, any chance you could fix me some—”

“Tea?” Smiling softly, Nicole pressed her lips to Waverly’s, capturing her wandering hands between her own before she could be lured into more. Not that Waverly needed to do anything for Nicole to be tempted into wanting more. With a wry chuckle at her own weakness when it came to Waverly, Nicole gave just one more kiss… and then another… before stepping back with a moan that made Waverly bounce on her toes. “I love you so damn much, Waverly Earp. Now go, grab a shower and your tea will be waiting when you get done.”

“I love you too. And you know, I don’t mind waiting for a drink if you want to take a shower with me?”

“Tempting, so very tempting but, do you think Wynonna will be willing to wait?”

“Ugh. Fine,” she pouted teasingly with a soft smile. “Go, be the best girlfriend ever and try not to let Wynonna and Mercedes gang up on you.”

Waverly smiled as she watched Nicole cross the room with a reluctance to leave that was clear in her eyes as they lingered upon her so hungrily and intently that Nicole nearly crashed into the door before righting herself enough to make it through unscathed, her beaming grin lingering as she closed the door behind her. She tracked the movements of her tread upon the stairs, the whining creak on the third one down, the squeal from the one up from the bottom before an unexpected…

“Oh for god’s sake! Wynonna! That is not what a kitchen counter is for!”

“Don’t fuss, Haughtsauce! It’s a counter… you can wipe it down!”

“No, _you_ can wipe it down! It was your ass that was on it! Oh, for…! No! Don’t bend over! Earp!!!”

Waverly chuckled softly as she quickly sorted out a comfortable change of clothing as their muffled banter filled the homestead, seeping through the walls to fill their home with love and laughter that the old building had been sorely lacking in for many years when they were younger. It felt strange, maybe even a little wrong to find humour in anything with what had happened to Shorty. Wynonna had assured her that he was going to be okay though and she hoped Wynonna wasn’t just trying to protect her from the truth.

Picking up the pile of clothing, Waverly made her way down the hall to have her shower. The water was slow to heat and had her wondering if they could afford something more modern… maybe something with multiple shower heads? It wasn’t long though before she was able to step inside, surrounding herself in the steam and heat as the hot water pounded down upon her body. It really had become a ritual of sorts for her, the washing away the scent and grime she felt somehow covered in after travelling. Usually, she preferred it when she got to freshen up again with Nicole but that usually stretched a simple shower out to many blissful hours.

Twenty minutes later she made her way down the stairs, following the continued banter interspaced with annoying slurping sounds from Wynonna, and the hearty scent of vegetable soup. Making her way over to the stove, she slotted herself in against Nicole’s side and breathed in the filling scent of the steam rising from the pot.

“Mmmm, that smells good.”

“Your Aunt left it. It does smell good, not as good as you though.” Smiling softly, Nicole buried her nose into the damp strands of Waverly’s hair just behind her ear just in the right spot to make Waverly’s body crease up as she breathed in the familiar scent of her shampoo. “Want me to braid that for you before we go?”

“Mhm.”

“Okay, go sit and I’ll bring you some soup.”

Waverly took her usual seat at the dining room table and sipped appreciatively at the drink of tea Nicole placed in front of her. After the near constant state of worry she had been in since they had gotten Wynonna’s call, just the sight of the soup steaming and glistening in the bowl Nicole placed before her along with some crusty rolls, had Waverly murmuring softly in appreciation while her moan at the first taste had Nicole sitting there, eyes wide and mouth open, her own spoon of soup just dangling from her fingers.

Blushing furiously at Waverly’s knowing look and Wynonna’s snorted chortle, Nicole ducked her head, smirking shyly while she busied herself with stirring her soup and poking at the chunks of vegetables. She was so busy pulling apart a bread roll that the sudden brush of Waverly’s fingers against the top of her right thigh almost made her yelp and knock the table over.

Smiling softly, Nicole placed her hand over Waverly’s, linking their fingers together. As they’d done many times before, their fingers moved instinctively, tracing aimless patterns upon each other’s flesh while they continued to eat and talk. The familiar act seemed to comfort Waverly, her body relaxed into the chair even more and she ate hungrily instead of just nibbling and going through the motions to appease her like she had the few times Nicole had managed to get her to even taste something on the flight… Getting her to even take a nibble had been so difficult and Waverly had been so lost in her own thoughts that Nicole was pretty certain that Waverly couldn’t remember it. And really, the armrests had probably had more nutritional value in them and probably tasted better too.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, Nicole cleaned the table off while Waverly went to make sure Wynonna put on something a little more suitable. Bare midriffs and plunging cleavages were probably not a good idea for a hospital ward where they were treating patients with heart problems.

“I think I want to stay here, Nicole.”

“Huh?” Nicole looked up from the dish she was rinsing out. “I thought you were anyway? Not like Purgatory has many other options—”

“No, silly! I mean… I’m homesick. I didn’t realise. Hell, until we came here to do the shows I would have said this hick town was so far in my rear-view mirror and out of my mind. But, then we came back and Wynonna and John Henry happened.”

Nicole’s lips quirked and she couldn’t help but wonder if her friend knew just how soft her voice had gone and how in love she looked as she thought about the other couple? ‘Cause that was a look she had seen on her own face more often than not since she had met Waverly.

“And then after what happened with my douchepecker brother, may he rest in hell—“

“Still may be too good for Tucker,” Nicole growled under her breath.

“No arguments from me on that,” Mercedes sighed back as she propped her hip against the counter next to her friend. She gave Nicole a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder at her grimace. “Really, he was a nasty piece of work from the moment he learned how to walk and look up under little girl’s skirts in kindergarten. I used to beat the shit out of him every time I found out but mom and dad, and then Beth, always protected him, said he was _special_. But, anyway, since that I just haven’t been able to get the pleasure I used to out of my job, you know?”

“Yeah, I might kinda get that.” Turning her head, Nicole followed Mercedes gaze in the direction that Wynonna and Waverly had gone. For both of them there joy and hearts now lay in Earp hands. Until she had met Waverly, Nicole’s one guiding light and passion in life was dancing. There wasn’t anywhere she wouldn’t have travelled to in order to perform in one way or another. But that was then. One glance at Waverly Earp, seeing the way her eyes had lingered upon her had caught her attention but it was finding out that the beautiful soul within matched her stunning looks had turned her life upside down. “So, what are you thinking then?”

“Well that’s the thing,” Mercedes sighed. “I’m not really sure how Wynonna feels about anything remotely like commitment. Shit, I’m not sure if I could do anything like that after being so free and easy for all these years.”

“Hey, she might surprise you—”

“Maybe so,” Mercedes smiled. “I’m going to have a talk with her though… once I get some liquid courage in me… and after everything is okay with Shorty of course.”

“Of course.”

“And as for the future. I think Purgatory could do with some sprucing up, don’t you? I could oversee Shae’s plans for the area and add the odd Gardner twist. And if I stick around I could stick my heels up the asses of any contractors thinking of going slow to get more money.”

“Would be a pretty good use for those stripper heels.”

“Jerk,” Mercedes gave Nicole’s shoulder a playful nudge. “I’ll have you know that these are very expensive stripper heels.”

“Wouldn’t doubt it,” Nicole grinned back. She straightened as Waverly came back into view and crossed the kitchen with more of a bounce in her step than had been there since they had left London. Her body pressed against hers, slotting into place to complete the puzzle that was her heart and soul. Waverly's arms slid around her waist, her fingers bunching up the fabric of her top, a sigh of happiness warming her as Waverly nuzzled her face against her.

“Mmmm, you feel so good.”

“So do you, baby.” Nicole gently hooked Waverly’s chin with a finger, lifting her face for a tender kiss that Waverly smiled into. “You ready to go see Shorty?”

Waverly wasn’t sure that anyone could be ready to visit someone in hospital and she’d really hoped that she wouldn’t have to be doing it so soon after seeing Nicole looking so broken and fragile in a hospital bed. No matter how reassuring Wynonna had said the docs had been about how Shorty was doing, Waverly knew she would hate herself if she didn’t go and, god forbid, something happened. “Yep, just need to grab my coat first.”

“Want me to drive?” Mercedes held the car keys up, dangling them off an elegantly manicures finger.

“Nope,” Nicole held out her hand and nimbly caught the keys as Mercedes tossed them over Wynonna’s head. “Think I had enough of your speed demon ways, Gardner.”

“That’s okay,” Wynonna grinned. “That means we get to be in the back together.”

Pursing her lips, Nicole tried to work out if it wasn’t worth the risk to let Wynonna or Mercedes take the wheel just so they could spend more time in the back instead. But it was too late, with a jaunty salute and a wicked smirk, Wynonna took Mercedes by the hand and had her on the way to the door before she could change her mind.

“Coming, Nicole?”

Nicole could see the worry building in Waverly’s eyes again, and hear the slightest quaver in her voice now that they were getting ready to head to the hospital. She eased her into a hug, hoping, praying that Waverly would find strength in her arms before they left the homestead to join Wynonna and Mercedes at the car… where Nicole was distressed to see, Wynonna was apparently about to try her hand at breaking into the rental vehicle.

“It was Mercedes’ idea!” Wynonna blurted out under the weight of her sister's disapproving glower.

“Asking if you ever had done it while doing a job is _not_ the same as telling you to do it!”

“Kinda is.”

“You’re just lucky I kind of love your stupid adorable face, Earp.”

Wynonna pressed her fingers to her cheek, her eyes gazing off into the distance as he held in the lingering feel of Mercedes’ kiss as her lover gave the other one a quick pat and slid far too elegantly for the tightness of her skirt into the back seat. Mercedes had used the word love before, at least Wynonna thought she had, but something felt different about this time. More real despite the lightness of her tone.

“Need me to slap some sense into you, ‘Nonna?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, let me.”

“Nicole!” Waverly tutted, giving Nicole shove in the direction of the driver’s door. “Wynonna, get in the car.” Rolling her eyes at the dazed and dopey, lopsided smile of Wynonna’s face, Waverly did what she had seen on every good cop show and after the police had broken up scuffles at Shorty’s, and planted her hand on Wynonna’s head to make sure she didn’t slam it into the frame as she climbed into the car.

The amount of cooing Mercedes almost… kinda… sorta… declaration of love brought about once they were finally settled in the back made Nicole very glad that the hospital wasn’t too far away, and also glad that she’d had a tablet before the flight to help with any nausea.

Road permitting, Nicole kept a hand within easy reach of Waverly, giving her all the reassurance that she could as she followed her instructions and drove back into Purgatory and put them on the road that would lead to the hospital. The sight of Shorty’s had her clutching at her thigh with a fierce grip that Nicole would have withstood a thousand times stronger if it would help to ease Waverly’s thoughts.

As the miles flew by under the wheels, she listened in on the stories that started to flow between them from their childhoods and how they had, frankly, probably terrorised Shorty along with most of the town with their antics, especially Wynonna and Mercedes. It sounded like Shorty, along with Gus, Curtis and the local sheriff, had been the ones that had understood them the most and had tried to guide them through life… which Wynonna, self-declared lone wolf that she was, had been especially resistant to.

“How did you end up working with him, Waves?”

“Oh, it just kind of happened,” Waverly shrugged, “I always used to hang out there with Uncle Curtis…”

“Gus figured that having Waves along would make him ease up on the drinking.”

“It did too,” Waverly chuckled. “The bar ended up almost a playground for me. For a lot of us actually. Chrissy used to come in when her dad did during happy hour every day. I think they were hoping that if we were there we wouldn’t take to sneaking in the back to steal banana schnapps.”

“That was once!”

“And never again. Let me tell you, a banana schnapps hangover is no joke,” Mercedes grimaced at the memory.

“Peppermint liquor is worse… tastes like Christmas and bad choices.”

“Haught! You got wasted on peppermint liquor?” Though, having seen Nicole high on painkillers at the hospital it probably just meant she’d sniffed the bottle.

“Once. We were celebrating our first paid gig. We went back to the drummers flat to have a drink and have a friendly competition and that was all we could find at hand. I suggested seeing who knew the most Golden Girls trivia but they knew I would win and we did shots instead. And, well… Never, ever, again. I won though… I guess, I mean, the others passed out around the table and I made it into the bathroom and passed out in the tub. I could taste my own thoughts dipped in peppermint for days so not sure how much of a win it was.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Don’t get any ideas, ‘Nonna.”

“I’ll take you up on the Golden Girls any day, ‘Earp. Shots… nope. I learned my lesson.”

“So, I’m guessing there’s not much call for a Golden Girls trivia expert—”

“Hey—”

“What do you think you would have done in life if the dancing hadn’t worked out? Dreams of becoming the next Ginger Spice?”

“Singing isn’t my thing and I never really thought of anything else… Hmm, I did have a phase where I thought about being in law enforcement.”

“Eww! Waverly Earp, trust you to fall for a narc wannabe! Oh, wait… was it the handcuffs? Totally the handcuffs, right? ‘Cause I could fix you up with some—”

“No, that’s okay, thanks.”

“Have you already got some? Haught! You kinky ginger! Are they furry ones? Pink? Totally pink!”

“They are not pink!”

“Ha! Then you’re not denying you’ve got some!”

“Wha? I— That’s not what—! No!”

“Wynonna, stop breaking my girlfriend! Furry?” she snorted. “Are you twelve? That is so gauche and childish… they’re leather,” she added with a whisper over her shoulder.

Nicole was glad that the entrance to the hospital finally came into view to save her from any more teasing. Though, she was pretty sure that her cheeks were glowing brighter than the well-lit hospital as she pulled the car into an empty space and cut the engine. It was all forgotten though as Waverly leaned over and pressed her warm lips against her cheek and whispered a barely perceptible ‘thank you’ against her.

Waverly looked up at the hospital as she climbed out of the car. The building was much smaller and less imposing than the one Nicole had been in but it looked no less cold or clinical for being just a small town hospital. She felt Nicole’s presence as she walked around to join her more than she saw her with how her gaze was locked upon the four-story building but the warmth of her hand linking with hers was the gentle reassurance that she needed to unstick her feet from the ground.

As they made their way into the hospital, Nicole gradually relinquished her hold on Waverly as she and Wynonna gravitated towards each other for support. They found their Aunt Gus waiting for them just outside of the ward, the thin framed woman with sharp features and short, curly, greying hair wrapping them up tightly in a hug. Nicole had met her, and been intimidated by the gruff woman, only a couple of times before but beneath the gruffness, there was such a love for her nieces.

“Thank you for bringing our angel home safely, Nicole.”

“Always will, ma’am.”

“Now, none of that now, I already feel every one of my years in my bones so no need to make me feel even older with the ma’am crap. You’re basically family now so you can call me Gus.” Gus gave Nicole a hug before she fixed her eyes upon the girl hanging around at the back of their group looking so out of place in their country hospital with her too fine clothing. Catching her eye, Gus raised a sharp brow at her. “And Mercedes Gardner, the proverbial bad penny. Come to lead Wynonna astray again?”

Straightening, Mercedes launched a brow of her own skywards and looked pointedly down at her outfit. “In these clothes?”

Chuckling as much at the almost panicked look on Wynonna’s face as her head snapped back and forth between them, as Mercedes reply, Gus stepped up and gave the redhead a quick hug.

“What. Is. Happening?”

“Not sure, Babygirl… But I’m kinda scared and I think we may have just got replaced as Gus’ favourites.”

Rolling her eyes, Gus shared a quick wink with Nicole and Mercedes. “Now then you two, Waverly is impossible to replace, you know that. You though, Wynonna… You keep stealin’ my truck and Curtis’ good whiskey every time you come home,” she fixed her niece with a glower until she shuffled from foot to foot. Relenting, she pulled Wynonna into her arms and planted a kiss on her temple. “And we love you just the same.”

“Ugh, you’re creasing my reputation,” Wynonna grumbled even as she surreptitiously wiped away the tears Gus’ too strong hug had squeezed for her eyes. Nope, no sappy tears here!

Gus planted another kiss on her forehead and cuffed her eldest niece smartly around the back of her head before relenting and releasing her.

“How’s Shorty doing?”

“Much better… which means he’s being even more of a whiny man-child. I had to take a walk before I poured water over his head or hit him with a bedpan.”

“Aunt Gus has a _unique_ way of dealing with the sick,” Wynonna explained to Ginger one and two… stepping back out of reach smartly before Gus could cuff her again.

“Come on, maybe the sight of you will calm the old fool down.” Linking her arm with Waverly’s, Gus gently steered her niece down the long, disinfectant scented hallway towards Shorty’s room. “He’s going to be okay,” she quietly assured her as she felt the tenseness stiffening Waverly’s stride. “Damn fool is going to need a change of diet, which is what he’s bitchin’ about the most, but he’s going to be just fine.”

“Not if they make me give up bacon I won’t woman!”

“You’ll do just fine without and like it! Now hush up and behave or you’ll have Waverly comin’ down on your stubborn ass!”

Waverly stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes taking in the sight of the man she considered more of a father figure in her life than a boss. He looked pale, his cheeks sunken in, highlighting the shape of the bones beneath. But the eyes that met hers held their usual warmth and fire and it was to them that she focussed as she flew across the room into his open arms.

“Hey now,” Shorty patted Waverly’s back gently as she curled into his arms with a sob. “I’m going to be just fine now, you here? So no tears.” Shuffling over slightly, he made room for Waverly to sit on the bed next to him despite her protests that it wasn’t allowed. “I don’t care what they say, you’re my medicine so you belong right here. Now, tell me all about the places you’ve visited. I want to hear about everything.”

“Some things she got up to are probably best not said around a man with a heart problem.”

“Wynonna!” Reaching out, Gus cuffed Wynonna around the head.


	19. Chapter 19

Two months had passed by since Nicole had had to leave to go back on tour but every time Waverly heard or saw a plane high in the sky over Purgatory as it headed away from the direction of the Big City airport, her body and soul ached just as much as it had when she had seen the plane taking Nicole away from her taking off.

They spoke and stayed in contact just as much, if not more, than when Nicole had left the first time. Back then though, Waverly had been foolish and had friend zoned them both. Now, now she knew what it was like to love and be loved by Nicole. Now she knew what it was like to share a bed with her every night, and what it was like to talk to her clearly and not have technology, weak internet, and time zones coming between them.

There were still months left to go on the tour, four at least, maybe more if the rumours she had read on the internet earlier proved to be true and Shae was about to announce new dates. Even when the tour was over and done with though, Waverly knew that wouldn’t be the end of it.

Nicole’s passion, her job, was dancing and that meant tours, rehearsals, shows, music videos and a million other things she did, and they took place all over the world in bustling cities that were far removed from the tiny town of Purgatory.

Shorty had tried to shoo her onto the plane with Nicole but even though Nicole ached to have her with her just as much she hadn’t pressured her in any way and had stood by her decision to stay. And really, there was no choice, Waverly’s place was there, taking care of the bar, and Nicole had promised that everything would be okay and she would be back before she even missed her.

Which was a lie… for that to be true, Nicole wouldn’t have had to leave in the first place as Waverly had missed her as soon as they had been forced to part at the airport.

Every time Waverly spoke to Nicole she was sure more than anything in the world that everything would work out but… when Waverly was alone the doubt crept in, whispering that she wasn’t enough to hold Nicole’s attention. She wasn’t good enough, wasn’t smart enough, beautiful enough. She just wasn’t enough.

She was just a girl, a barmaid at that, who had lived her life in the same small town in the middle of nowhere. How could she hope to compete with all the pretty girls that flocked around Nicole? Ones that were right there when she couldn’t be, throwing themselves at her.

“Waverly? Are you okay?” Reaching out, Chrissy shared a concerned look with Mercedes as she placed a hand on Waverly’s shoulder. Her friend was hunched over, her breathing ragged and almost panting as she leaned against the side of her Jeep as though she was in pain.

Mercedes moved closer, mirroring Chrissy and taking up position the other side of Waverly so she could be safe from any prying eyes as people moved in and out of Shorty’s or passed by on their way down the street. She’d always liked the younger girl when they’d been growing up, even when she was trying to tag along with herself and Wynonna where she couldn’t go. The adult Waverly had grown into, Mercedes loved and admired not only because she was Wynonna’s sister or Nicole’s girlfriend. She was so bubbly and smart, so beautiful inside and out in a way that was just a joy to be around. To see her how she was right then, it hurt.

“Hey,” gently tilting Waverly’s chin her way, Chrissy swiped at the tear that escaped from Waverly’s eye to stream down her cheek. “No, none of that, Waves. If you cry I’m going to start crying too. What can we do?”

Mercedes held out a hand as Waverly let out a muffled sniffle that kind of sounded like a name. “Phone,” she ordered gently. “No questions, just give.” As it was placed hesitantly into her hand, Mercedes held it out, her eyebrow arching up until Waverly unlocked it for her with a trembling finger. A quick swipe up on the short list of contacts on Waverly’s Skype and she pressed the screen and handed it back as soon as it connected through and started to ring. “Here.”

“Mercedes!” When she saw what she had done, Waverly tried to disconnect the call but the older woman just slapped her hand away. “She’ll be asleep!”

“Waverly,” smiling softly, Mercedes cupped Waverly’s face between her hand, forcing her to meet her eyes and see the truth in them. “Nicole loves you more than anything, Waverly Earp. Really, it’s sickening how googly-eyed she gets just at the mention of your name. And she will _always_ pick up for you.”

Mercedes’ smile turned into a full on grin as, right on cue, she heard Nicole answer the call, her familiar gentle tones making Waverly’s whole face light up like she had been lit from within.

“Waves?”

“Hey—” Waverly tried to contain her excitement and stop herself from breaking out into sobs at the same time.

Turning on the too bright lamp on the bedside table, Nicole sat up in her lonely hotel bed, wiping a hand over her face to chase away the last fragments of sleep as she did so. She pressed her phone closer to her ear, desperate to hear everything, even Waverly’s breathing to chase away the ache in her heart from missing her that had been her constant companion since she’d had to leave her. “God, I’ve missed you, baby!”

A shuddered, plaintive, sob sighed over the phone. “Is everything okay, Waverly? Is Shorty okay?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m sorry. Shorty’s doing good. It’s just—”

“Talk to me, Waves,” Nicole urged softly as Waverly’s voice trembled and faded away. “I’m here for you, baby.”

Nicole’s words managed to warm Waverly even as they had sadness wash through her as Nicole wasn’t right there. No matter how close she sounded over the phone, no matter how her words touched her, Waverly couldn’t reach out and feel her.

“I shouldn’t have woken you.”

“I’m glad you did,” Nicole quickly assured her. She didn’t know exactly what was wrong with Waverly but she knew how she was feeling and she knew that she desperately didn’t want Waverly to hang up. “It’s morning there, right?”

“Yes, still morning… just about,” she smiled softly, knowing full well that Nicole had probably lost all sense of time with going through so many time zones since they had parted.

“I need to see you. Wanna go to video?”

“Okay.” Waverly smiled wanly as Nicole’s face came into view with a smile that was all dimples.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

“Stop,” Waverly blushed shyly even as a part of her preened under the weight of Nicole’s hungry gaze and wicked smile backed up by the sincerity in her voice.

“Stop telling the truth? Nope, never gonna happen. What are you doing today, baby?”

“Oh, same as usual.”

“No, tell me, Waverly, please. I want to know. I love hearing about everything you’re doing.”

Waverly clutched the phone a little bit closer and tighter, her fears washing away under the genuine interest and love in Nicole’s voice as she asked question after question seemingly about everyone she had met in Purgatory.

How could she doubt anything, even herself, under such love and caring?

As they watched the youngest Earp beaming with happiness as she talked to Nicole, Mercedes shared a high five with Chrissy and promptly let out a startled yelp as strong, leather-clad arms snaked around her waist to pull her back against the equally strong body of her lover.

“Damn it, Earp! Way to scare a woman to death!” She slapped playfully at Wynonna’s arms with no actual desire to be released from them… Especially as Wynonna weakened her with a gentle nuzzle of her lips against the side of her neck that had Mercedes’ mind going straight into the gutter and flying back to how good that same move had felt just that morning when Wynonna had actually woken before noon and in a playful mood at that.

“Ugh, you lot are all making me feel very single.”

“I thought you were going out with Perry Croft?”

“I was. God knows what we are now though,” Chrissy frowned. “He’s always too busy with work. Apparently so busy he can’t even think to call or text when we live just minutes from each other. Maybe I should start batting for the other team more often. What? College was a good time for experimenting, and who do you think was behind Purgatory finally getting their own Pride parade last year?”

“Purgatory has a Pride?” Mercedes tried and failed not to sound too incredulous that the little town she had grown up in had managed to get so progressive.

“Yep, they painted the fire engine and everything,” Chrissy grinned.

“Well, I look forward to hopefully seeing that for myself next year.”

“There is no ‘hopefully’ about it, Mercedes,” Wynonna winked. “I’ll have you riding pillion on my bike waving a pride flag right at the front of the parade.”

“Really, Wynonna? Riding that bike of yours in my clothes?”

“You have to ditch the tight dresses and heels at some point, Gardner.”

“In your dreams, Earp.”

“Yes, quite frequently in my dreams you’ve ditched the dresses, heels and everything else,” Wynonna winked suggestively. “Well, sometimes you keep the heels on,” she let out a little growl that made Mercedes shiver against her.

“And on that note, I think I’m going to pop over to the station and make sure my dad isn’t breaking his diet again.” Chrissy rubbed her hands together at the thought of catching him out. “Tell Waves I’ll call her later.”

“Will do!”

With her arms still around Mercedes' waist, Wynonna turned them around enough so she could see Waverly who was still lost in her own little Haught world. Nibbling gently on the pale curve of Mercedes’ shoulder, she smirked at the little needy gasp her action caused. “Everything okay, I thought Waves wasn’t calling her bae until tonight?”

“Change of plans,” Mercedes whispered as she quickly filled Wynonna in on how Waverly had been. “I think your sister was seconds away from having a panic attack or something from missing Nicole. Never underestimate the power of a redhead when it comes to creating yearning.”

“Nope, never,” Wynonna whispered against the shell of her ear, causing Mercedes to shiver in her arms again. “Us Earp’s can be pretty addictive too, ya know.”

“You certainly are. Now off, I refused to be dry humped in the street… again,” she finished on a whisper as Wynonna got that look in her gorgeous blue eyes that said she was giving serious thought to testing her resolve. Spinning out of Wynonna’s arms, she wagged a finger under her nose. “You can just behave, Earp.”

“Spoilsport.”

Propping her shoulders against the wall of Shorty’s, Wynonna carefully looked on as Waverly talked to Nicole. She had noticed since Nicole had left how caught up in her own thoughts Waverly got every now and then and how down she could get from it so she could well imagine how she had been before the call. With Nicole talking to her though there was only a blissful joy in Waverly that shone from her eyes and every movement that was gloriously animated instead of tight and restrained how she got when her anxiety crowded in on her too much.

“Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“We’ll make sure of it. Starting to regret getting caught up with all things Earp?”

“I’ve kind of got a fondness for all things Earp.” Nudging her shoulder against Wynonna’s, Mercedes linked their hands together and brushed her thumb across the back of Wynonna’s strong hand. “Feels like… home.”

Wynonna glanced at Mercedes profile, the intensity of her soft whisper hitting her as much as the meaning behind her words. They were still tentative about big declarations about their feelings, especially anything to do with the ‘L’ word but more and more every day it was getting harder to hold it back from either Mercedes or Doc.

“I kinda love you too, Mercedes.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause I’m a crazy, awesome bitch.”

“I thought I was the crazy, awesome bitch?”

“Guys! You’re both crazy awesome bitches! Now, will you be quiet, please?!”

“Only if I get to say hi to Red. Hi, Red!” Bounding over, Wynonna threw her arm across Waverly’s shoulder and leaned into view with a huge smile on her face before recoiling in horror. “Oh god! You’re in bed!”

“Hi, Wynonna,” Nicole rolled her eyes, smirking as Wynonna covered her eyes with a hand as though she was wearing nothing and not her, perfectly sensible because Waverly wasn’t there to snuggle with, shorts and top.

Shoving Wynonna back with her hand to her face, Waverly turned her attention back on Nicole. Her sister’s reminder that she’d woken Nicole had her feeling guilty all over again. “I should let you get back to sleep.”

“I’m fine, Waves,” words that were betrayed by a sudden yawn that broke free at the word ‘sleep’ and threatened to crack her jaw wide open. “Okay, maybe a little sleepy,” she admitted with a rueful shrug and a soft smile that was matched by one from Waverly. “But I’m fine. I want to be with you.”

Waverly stroked a finger over the screen, wishing more than anything that she could really feel the warmth of Nicole’s cheek as she brushed over it. Despite the ache, she felt at peace, her soul recharged by their time together no matter how far too brief it was.

“I don’t think the charge on my phone will last much longer anyway so… Lie down, Nicole. Get some sleep. I don’t want Dolls and Shae coming down on me ‘cause you fell asleep in the middle of the show.” She smiled as Nicole’s protests were broken once more by a yawn and she settled down against the pillow, soft brown eyes flecked with gold gazing at her sleepily.

With the phone resting against the pillow beside her, Nicole could almost fool herself into imagining that Waverly was right there, settling down to sleep at her side. “There’s no show or rehearsals until late tomorrow so call me later when you get off work, okay?”

“I- I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” Nicole purred, smiling as Waverly ducked her head shyly but cast eyes up at the screen that blazed with anticipation. Although the time difference meant that they were at different times of the day, tonight, Waverly’s night, was their date night. They’d been planning it for weeks, changing schedules and keeping time free so they could just be together.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Waverly.”

“I’ll call as soon as my shift is over.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Waverly wrapped herself up in the warmth of Nicole’s love and the promise of later long after their call ended and the screen went dark. Turning around revealed the smirking faces and matching perfectly arched brows of Wynonna and Mercedes.

“What?” she asked nervously, hoping to bluff her way nonchalantly past anything they thought they’d heard.

“Oh, nothing.” Nodding at Mercedes, Wynonna slid an arm through one of Waverly’s while Mercedes took the other. “So, it's a _date_ night, huh?” Wynonna smirked knowingly as they led her little sister into the dimly lit interior of Shorty’s.

Waverly blushed at the knowing tone in Wynonna’s voice and quickly slipped out from between them as soon as she could.

She made her way back behind the bar to take over from Shorty, who had insisted that he was ‘just fine,’ that it was ‘his bar and he would work when he wanted to damn it!’ far sooner than any of them wanted him too.

As Waverly fixed drinks for several of the more hardened regulars and, despite the grumbling she got from Wynonna’s direction, she served coffee for her and Mercedes. Waverly could feel their eyes on her still, especially the brilliant blue of Wynonna’s as they twinkled with mischief in the strip lights hanging above the bar. She knew what was still on their mind and the teasing she was in for later and it made her blush anew. Not because Wynonna was wrong in what she was obviously thinking but because she was right.

Before, Waverly had always imagined that there was no real connection or fun to be had in being _intimate_ with a partner over a phone or even through a video call. It just seemed so fake and how could it possibly be fulfilling?

Champ had suggested it once and just the thought of it had left Waverly feeling cold and insecure and stressing about how she was supposed to talk to him like _that_. How was she supposed to describe pleasing him when pleasure was so hard to come by when they were together in person?

That had been then though.

Before Nicole.

They hadn’t even started out intending for anything like that to happen. There had been no pressure, no expectations. But a comment or teasing message from Nicole, Waverly wasn’t even sure what it had been any more that had triggered her, but she had _felt_ Nicole’s words. They had touched Waverly just as surely as Nicole’s touch would have if they had been together.

Waverly had brushed it aside at first but more and more, words became as real as physical actions and it opened up another part of their relationship. Another way for them to connect… to be closer even with miles between them.

Through words alone, Waverly could feel Nicole, her hands and body, with an intimacy she hadn’t expected. Every touch, every kiss. And Nicole felt her just as strongly too.

In the cold light of day it felt strange to feel each other so much, but with Nicole’s voice in her ears, it was entirely unfair, amazing and so very right how she could leave her wrecked and quivering just by using her voice and the knowledge of what drove her crazy.

“You’ve got that smile on your face again, Babygirl.”

“Oh? What smile if that?”

“I’m not sure you want me describing it in mixed company… especially where Shorty might hear. Don’t want to have the old codger back ending up back in the hospital.”

“Hey now, less of the old!” Shorty mock glared and shook a reproachful finger at a totally unrepentant Wynonna. “You do look… happy though, Waverly,” he smiled softly at her.

“I am. I’m very happy.”

“Not as happy as she’s going to look later after her phone _‘date’_ with Haught-to-trot.”

“Wynonna, leave your sister alone or I will bar you.”

“But, Shorty, I’m your best customer!”

“Wynonna, you have never even brought a drink. That officially makes you the second worse customer this bar has ever had.”

“Second worst? Really? Who did I lose out to?”

“Champ Hardy, for what that fool man-child did to our Waverly.”

“I’ll drink to that! Pour me a whiskey, Babygirl!”

With a heavy roll of her eyes, Waverly relented, slapped two shot glass down on the worn wooden bar and filled them until the amber liquid threatened to spill over the brim. With an eyebrow raised in warning, Waverly backed away from the bar, keeping the bottle well out of Wynonna’s reach as she put the cap back on it and put it back in its place below the bar. “One and done, ‘Nonna. It’s too early to get wasted.”

“Bite your tongue, Babygirl! It’s never too early!”

“Yes, it is!”

Wynonna tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as a sudden love-struck grin came over Waverly’s face. She was about to ask what had come over Waverly but the sudden scramble for the phone in her back pocket as she darted out from behind the bar was answer enough. “Say hi to Haught for me!” she sniggered.

“Shorty, don’t let her have any more booze!”

“Waves! Waverly!” Wynonna called after her sister, putting every ounce out pleading into her voice she could muster but Waverly flipped her a middle finger over her shoulder and vanished through the door that led to the upstairs without even looking back at her. “Hey, Shorty—”

“No!”

“Et Tu, Shorty?”

“Wynonna, I love you like a daughter… the black sheep, wayward as hell kind of daughter, but a daughter none the less. But, it is more than my life is worth to go behind Waverly’s back. If I do, she will know and give me that disappointed look and that is worse than anything known to man.”

“Yeah, that look is bad,” Wynonna sighed in defeat. “Damn it!”

As she dashed up the stairs and closed the door behind her, Waverly accepted the call with a sense of dread and excitement doing war with each other.

“Hey.”

“Hi, baby.”

“Is everything okay, Nic?” she whispered cautiously.

“God, yes. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I just couldn’t get back sleep, had too much on my mind and I just wanted to quickly run something by you?”

“You never need to ask. What’s wrong?”

“This is—”

“What?” Even to her own ears, her voice sounded high and panicked at the thought that Nicole had called to break up with her. “I—”

“Waves, take a breath. Nothing is wrong,” Nicole quickly assured her. “I love you with all my heart and soul.”

The utter conviction in Nicole’s voice calmed Waverly, allowing her to take a breath. “I- I love you too. Okay, I’m okay now… what were you saying?”

“Well…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am a completely horrible person and terrible tease for leaving that were I did ;)
> 
> The Jolene in this chapter comes courtesy of part of my own as I know what it is like to be in love with someone that travelled all over the world and country and, thanks to us having a long distance relationship I know what it's like to be overwhelmed by all the doubt of not being good enough.
> 
> I also know all too well the other part of having a LDR, phone sex, yayyy... I just wish I could have expressed it a bit better than I did.


	20. Chapter 20

For the first time since she had had to leave Waverly behind and fly off to rejoin the tour, Nicole felt anticipation flowing through her body with such force that she bounced up and down to disperse some of it as she waited in the wings watching the crew setting up the final touches on the darkened stage while the crowd bayed and cheered in demand for entertainment.

Nicole still loved to perform, loved to dance, but she wanted the show and night to be over. She wanted to see the sun rise on a new day. The day where she would see the plane land that was carrying Waverly back to her arms.

Nicole wished that Waverly could have been right there with her but bad weather lay between them that had put huge delays on all flights. When it all came down to it they had already discussed everything to the nth degree as a couple anyway and she didn’t need to be there.

They had talked for hours laying everything out openly and honestly, holding nothing back, until they both knew what they wanted and how they felt.

It still would have been nice though simply because Nicole loved having Waverly with her.

“Ready to kick ass out there one more time?”

Nicole jumped slightly, realising she had been so lost in thought that Shae had managed to sneak up on her… Which should have been impossible given the brightly coloured outfit she was wearing. “Sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you over the colours.”

“You like?” Shae gave a little twirl to show off the way it sparkled.

“It’s… definitely… eye-catching,” Nicole grimaced teasingly.

“Jerk!” Shae stuck her tongue out at her friend. “You have no sense of what is fashionable so I am going to ignore you.”

“Does the person that made it have any sense of fashion?”

“Careful, if they hear, Wardrobe will sabotage your last outfit and you’ll end up butt ass naked on stage. And you didn’t answer… ready for all _that_ one last time?” Shae nodded a gesture towards the roar of the crowd and the waiting stage.

“It’s not like I’m hanging up my shoes or ridiculous spandex outfits forever,” Nicole laughed as she nudged her shoulder against Shae’s. “But yes, I am looking forward to the next chapters of my life.”

“Good.” Shae looked at her friend and suddenly felt both ancient and like the girl that had first set eyes on the scared girl with the bright red hair and decided that they were going to be friends forever.

“What—” Nicole’s breath left her body in a whoosh as Shae launched herself into her arms and clung to her like a limpet. “No. Shae, don’t you dare cry on me,” Nicole whispered against her friend’s ear as she returned her hug. “If you cry, I’ll cry and then Charlie will cry and set everyone off and then Makeup will kill us all for ruining all the hard work that went into making Charlie look pretty.”

“Hey!” Charlie whined over Nicole’s shoulder… and started looking around to see if there was anyone he could beg a tissue off so he didn’t end up a mess.

Nicole smiled softly as Shae chuckled into her neck with only the smallest of hiccups.

Leaning back in the circle of Nicole’s arms, Shae placed her hands on her shoulders as she looked at her, a wry smile twisting her lips as Nicole lifted a hand and gently wiped away a tear that escaped to roll down her cheek. “Don’t let the tears fool you, Red, I am so happy for you.”

“I know. Now,” she paused to press a kiss to Shae’s forehead, “you, my brilliant rock star friend, are in the wrong start place.” Chuckling, Nicole turned Shae around and nudged her towards Doc and Rosita who was waiting to lead her down into position below the stage for her dramatic entrance through the trapdoor there.

Nicole let the beat of the crowd and flow of the energy backstage wash over her as it built to breaking point as the stage went completely dark. The crowd paused and Nicole could almost feel their anticipation spilling out at as a rising pulse of music sounded through the huge speakers in the arena.

“Ready?”

Nicole just grinned wildly in anticipation at Charlie.

A second later her feet hit the smooth boards in sync with his as they tore across the stage under the cover of darkness and the blinding glare of rising lights to take up position, their bodies arched and poised as Shae burst up through the stage to land perfectly in position between them.

She stood there, seemingly indifferent to everything as she soaked up the cheers and screaming, letting the crowd rev themselves into a fury even more before giving the subtle, pre-arranged signal that set everything in motion.

The entrance was new, perfectly crafted along with changes to the set list and routines to make the show better and keep interest and excitement up for the lengthy extension that Shae had added to the tour when the show had been videoed and posted online countless times.

The internet could be a great tool for getting the word out, connecting with the fans and creating excitement but the downside was that it also created a culture amongst some of wanting everything for free that had forced Shae and her team to adapt over the years, to change their way of thinking and make the best use of what there was.

And the way of doing that with tours was making it so the best experience was in being there in person and not watching a poor quality recording.

From the time they hit the stage every single one of them gave their all. Their bodies followed the carefully crafted routines, showcasing Shae as she put everything into every note she sang and every word she spoke to the audience.

Nicole loved it, the performing, feeding off the energy of the audience and Shae. It created a buzz that lifted her higher and higher… but one that could no longer reach the levels that she got just from being with Waverly. She did her best, she always did, but what drove her through every move and spin was the thought that it was one more that led her closer to the end of the show and meeting up with Waverly at the airport, and their new life together.

Darting off the stage, Nicole felt hands grabbing at her, helping her out of one set of clothing and into the next while hair and makeup worked their magic. While they worked, she ran through the next set of routines, going over the more complicated steps until they were fixed in her mind and she was sure of them…

But a part of her… that part looked to the future that she and Waverly had talked about over the weeks since she had put it to her that she wanted to give up touring and settle down.

Waverly had, surprisingly, taken some convincing as she’d said that she didn’t want to be the reason that Nicole gave up on her passion. It had taken a hell of a lot of talking before she would believe that she wasn’t. Nicole was just tweaking it. Instead of constant touring and following the choreography of others she wanted the freedom to dance her dance and help others to find their passion.

The time usually spent touring, Nicole wanted to use that for teaching and performing closer to home.

And home, for as long as she wanted her by her side, was wherever Waverly was… Starting with a couple of days exploring each other and Rio.

Minutes after leaving the stage, Nicole took to it again, joining the high energy dance routine that ended one song and slipped seamlessly into the next. With that section of the show being so high energy they rotated in and out often so that they didn’t crowd the backstage and overwhelm wardrobe and makeup, and it also helped to keep the energy as high as possible for the fans.

Six songs later and they hit the slower songs of the set list. Not that meant that they didn’t have a job to do still but the dancing to back Shae up was less frenetic and after being all big expressive moves it could be as much of a challenge to calm it all down as much as it could for Shae to bring her breathing and voice under control so she didn’t sound all breathless while trying to sing.

To help her centre and find her peace, Shae took the time to talk to the crowd, telling them a story about her childhood that led into the song.

Nicole let the words wash over her as what felt like every member of the wardrobe and makeup crews buzzed around her. The number they were preparing her for was special for that night… A last dance between friends.

“… for those of you that have been following me for a while…” Shae paused as the crowd cheered loudly to indicate their dedication to being her fans. “You will know that I have taken this journey with two very special women. Rosita, my beloved Rosita, is the love of my life. And then there is Nicole, who has been my good friend through good times and bad since the moment we met.”

Nicole groaned as a glance at one of the big screens showed that Shae had arranged for pictures from their time together over the years played out for all to see… including a couple of pictures of the failed dye job.

“God, I really did look like a troll doll,” Nicole chuckled.

“Nicole has been such a huge part of my life and career. I never told her but she gave me the courage and strength to keep going even when I doubted myself, telling me to listen to my heart and have the courage to go for what I wanted instead of listening to people telling me I wasn’t good enough to make it. We have seen some shit!”

Glancing to the side of the stage, Shae smiled as she saw Nicole standing there waiting.

“Tonight is going to be Nicole’s last time with me on stage this tour. I haven’t given up hope of talking her back one day. But as she has decided to leave us, I’m going to take this moment to claim one last special dance with her.”

Crossing the stage, Nicole gave a deep bow and held out a hand for Shae to take.

“No… this dance isn’t for me, my friend.”

“What’s going on, Shae?” They were only feet apart but with the roar of the crowd, Nicole had to raise her voice to be heard. Shae didn’t answer with words, she just smiled widely and Nicole followed the direction her dark eyes were looking and turned her head to see a vision of love and beauty walking across the stage towards her.

Nicole froze for a moment and just watched, her eyes raking hungrily up and down the vision walking her way. Wearing an off the shoulder white dress that swirled enticingly around her tanned legs where it lay above her knees, showing off a generous amount of her shapely thighs. With the spotlight spilling over her carefully braided hair, creating a halo around her, she looked like an angel. So much so that Nicole pinched herself just to make sure she wasn’t just dreaming up what she really wanted.

“Waves?”

“This dance is for both of you,” Shae smiled. “Now go to her your love, you idiot.” Shae barely got her words out before Nicole was in motion, her long legs eating up the space between her and the woman she loved to sweep her up into her arms.

They would be lucky if Nicole did more than just gaze into Waverly’s eyes for the rest of the show but with a quick nod to the patiently waiting band, Shae started singing, the crowd adding their voices to the familiar soft love song remixed with a Latin twist in deference to the country that was hosting the show.

Nicole opened her mouth to ask Waverly something, she wasn’t even sure what… how she had got there? What was going on? But Waverly placed a finger over her lips, a loving smile curving her own, her hazel eyes twinkling in the stage lights as she stilled her words.

She was there, that was all that mattered.

“Dance with me?”

At Waverly’s eager nod, Nicole let her body slide own her own, she stepped back a pace as Waverly’s feet alighted on the stage, their joined hands gently twirling her back into her arms to the beat of the music and the song flowing around them.

If she had been dancing with Shae right then there was a well-rehearsed choreography to follow but Nicole threw it out of the window. This was Waverly. While the song was the same the beat that guided them was their love. Their bodies shifted and moved in rhythm, coming together, matching and supporting, entwining as they flowed across the stage.

If Shae had had even the slightest doubt in her mind that her friend was making the right decision, it was washed away as she watched them dance around the stage. They were so utterly wrapped up in each other, their faces alight with the sheer joy of being in each other’s arms again.

Over in the wing, she caught sight of Rosita watching them and her, her smile growing wider as their eyes met and she blew her a cheeky kiss that made Shae want to just march over and just claim the kiss from her lips right there and then instead of waiting until they were alone. Behind her, locked in their own little world, she caught a glimpse of John Henry, Mercedes and Wynonna reconnecting… which with them, apparently meant scandalising Jeremy and his new ‘maybe boyfriend’, Robin.

Shae wasn’t sure when their tour had become the place to find love but she couldn’t have been happier even if it did saying a temporary goodbye to her friends with Nicole leaving to pursue teaching dancing and she was also considering taking over some of the reins with her grans charitable works with Mercedes’ help while the later also focussed on taking care of the business ventures for her.

With those two working together, and John Henry talking about winding down some of his in the field work as her head of security and branching out into bounty hunting and home brewing… a weird combination but that apparently was the power of the Earp’s at work… Shae had the feeling that Purgatory was going to become the place to go… And maybe it was worth discussing with Rosita the possibility of having another home there?

There were tens of thousands of people watching her every move, a world-famous pop star serenading them… but it all faded away until all Waverly could feel and see was the woman gently guiding their movements and the love shining out of her beautiful eyes as she gazed at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

Their legs shifted together, hips brushing in a way that made heat pool through her body. Sliding her hands up to lay upon the strength of Nicole’s shoulders, Waverly delighted in the silky feel of the cream coloured waistcoat and the white blouse Nicole was wearing with contracting black pants. The usually masculine outfit was cut very femininely, cinched in in all the right places to cling to her curves.

Being Nicole though, she’d managed to undo a few more buttons on the blouse than was strictly necessary but Waverly was never going to complain about her girlfriend’s apparent war on buttons. And those pants… Waverly was pretty sure they were painted on they were so tight.

Waverly shivered as Nicole’s hand shifted down her back, her splayed fingers teasing flesh and nerves left exposed by the cut of her dress as Nicole dipped her. Running her fingers through Nicole’s hair, Waverly worked the tie hold it back loose, releasing the fiery strands to create a curtain around them as Nicole teased her lips with her own, the whispered declaration of her love breathing into her.

As the song came to an end, the lights dimming, Waverly tugged on Nicole’s hand, towing her behind her as they left the stage to find what loosely passed for a quiet corner amongst the chaos.

“You made it? Well, obviously you made it…” smiling at her own babbling, Nicole brushed the backs of her fingers down the curve of Waverly’s cheek, her heart swelling at the way Waverly pressed into her touch. “God, I’ve missed you!”

Waverly laughed in delight and gazed down into Nicole’s twinkling eyes as she found her feet leaving the floor again. “Weather be damned… there was no way I wasn’t going to be here for this… for you. And I had a little help from this side with Shae and everyone here, and also Wynonna and Mercedes.”

Hearing her name, Wynonna lifted her head from where it was pressed against Doc’s chest and winked at Nicole and Waverly. “Babygirl, we is the team!”

“Oh god, how many laws did she break?” Nicole stage whispered rather loudly because of the noise around them.

“Erm, probably a few… but don’t tell the cops that pulled us over that she convinced to give us a police escort.”

Nicole was thoroughly scandalised but, she wasn’t going to complain too much as it had led to Waverly been in her arms right then. Sliding her hands up and down Waverly’s sides, Nicole eased Waverly into the cradle of her body. “I’m so glad you’re here, baby.”

“Me too,” Waverly smiled. “I don’t want to let you go but… I can see a team from Wardrobe itching to jump you… not that I can blame that ‘cause you look hot as hell in a suit,” she purred.

“Why, thank you m’lady.” Giving a little bow, Nicole pressed a kiss to the back of Waverly’s hand.

“Get out of her,” Waverly blushed. “I’ll be right here when you get done.”

Reluctantly, Nicole let herself be dragged away to change into the next outfit ready to go back onstage. She felt lighter, more alive, with Waverly there watching intently as she stepped back onto the stage.

Waverly ate up the sight of her girlfriend as she danced. All the grace, beauty and strength was just something she never grew tired of seeing. And she was really looking forward to seeing Nicole teaching and encouraging future generations of young hopefuls to follow their passion just as her gran had done for her… Just as Nicole had done for her with all her love and support when it had come to her courses… And hopefully, one day, she would do the same for their children.

As the concert came to an end, Waverly jumped from the crate she had been sitting on and cheered louder than anyone in the crowd for her best baby and leapt into her arms again as soon as she got close enough, not caring in the least as Nicole warned that she was hot and sweaty as… “I plan on making you sweat even more as soon as I get you back to the hotel.”

Nicole shivered at the promise in Waverly’s eyes. “I- erm- I’m going to get out of this and I’ll be right back.”

She returned as quickly as she could and found Waverly standing in the middle of the now quiet stage, only a few stragglers from the crowd, and crew making everything safe for the night still around to witness her doing a slow pirouette with her arms outstretched.

Gently capturing her slender fingers, Nicole eased her into her arms and gazed down in wonderment at the beauty looking back at her.

“Are you sure you want to give all this up, Nicole?”

“Yes,” Nicole nodded decisively. They had gone over it so often, making sure they were making decisions for the right reason and Nicole’s mind had not waivered once… this was the right decision for her and for them. Travelling wasn’t over for them by a long shot. There were still so many places she wanted to take Waverly so she could see her eyes light up in wonder and so she could see those places through her eyes.

But Nicole wanted to do it all on their terms. To their schedule.

“I heard back from the Big City Museum yesterday.”

“Oh?” Nicole bit her lip nervously, hoping desperately that it had been good news.

“They— Nicole, they said that if I keep up with the grades how I have that they would be more than interested. It turned out that the tour guide when we went to visit that day, it was actually one of the department heads there and I kind of made an impression… and so did you.”

“Me?!”

“Yep,” Waverly grinned. “She remembered how you kept demonstrating the dancing positions in the paintings.”

“Well, that ballet one was labelled completely wrong,” Nicole huffed softly.

“Oh, and the Purgatory High School got back to me the other day too… They said with the courses I’m doing I could maybe take some classes.”

“Huh? Aren’t you a bit too advanced for that?”

“Take as in teach them, silly.”

“Oh, well that makes much more sense,” Nicole chuckled.

“They did have one concern though… and that was that BCU would snatch me away from them,” she finished, blushing in pride.

“That’s amazing, Waves! And, if I prove to be utterly useless at teaching dance I can live my life as a kept woman.” Chuckling, Nicole danced out of reach before Waverly could slap her arm. “Really, I am so happy for you Waverly. You are so smart and beautiful and I know you can do whatever you want in life.”

“Well, right now, what I really want to do most in the world, is you. Okay,” Waverly wafted her hands around as Nicole smirked at her. “That was not how I meant that to come out.”

Taking a breath, Waverly stood before Nicole, biting her lip with the sudden rush of nerves that flooded through her as she looked up into Nicole’s eyes.

“Waves?” Nicole swallowed hard at the sudden seriousness in Waverly’s eyes. She felt like she was suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff and wasn’t sure why.

“Stay there a second.”

“What?” Nicole blinked in confusion as Waverly suddenly rushed over to where a microphone stand was, picked something up and rushed back again. And then Waverly gracefully sank to a knee before her and Nicole’s stomach swooped and dived, a million butterflies taking flight within her stomach.

“Nicole Rayleigh Haught… I love you so much… I did from the moment I first saw you and every day since you have danced into my heart and soul more and move every day and… I can’t imagine not spending every day of the rest of our lives together.” Chewing on her lip nervously, Waverly opened up the red velvet covered ring box and held it out along with her hopes and heart. “Will you do me the greatest honour and marry me? Will you be my wife?”

Waverly finally looked up, taking in the wide-eyed look in Nicole’s eyes. Her heart swooped and dived nervously as huge tears sparkled on Nicole’s dark lashes, trembling before tumbling to splash against the stage.

_She’d blown it! Oh, God! She’d blown it!_

“I—” Waverly’s jumped, her thoughts taking flight as Nicole dropped to her knees before her and swept her up into a deeply passionate kiss with trembling lips. Cupping her jaw, Waverly created space enough to whisper. “Is that a yes?”

Nicole barked out a laugh at the question and kissed Waverly again, pouring all her love for her into it until she went a little limp and moaned into her mouth. “Yes. That is a yes, Waverly Earp. Now and forever.”

Nicole held out her left hand and watched as Waverly cradled it within her own as she gently slid the beautiful engagement ring she had chosen for her onto her finger. It was perfect in every way and the feel of it clicked something within her that felt so very right and she couldn’t wait for the day when there would be a wedding band to join it.

“You were wrong though, Waves,” she smiled, “it was you who danced into my heart that day.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, we reach the end of this story and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)


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